Lufthansa Technik looks back on record year 2019 - The effects of the corona crisis will be massive

Lufthansa Technik AG continued on its growth path in the past
financial year and closed 2019 with record revenue and earnings.
Revenue rose by 13 percent to EUR 6.9 billion. Earnings before
interest and taxes (adjusted EBIT) grew by around eleven percent to
EUR 493 million. The extent of the effects of the worldwide aviation
crisis affecting Lufthansa Technik cannot yet be concretely foreseen,
but the impact is already massive.

Dr. Johannes Bussmann, Chairman of the Executive Board, said: "With
the outbreak of the corona crisis, nothing is the same as it was just
a few weeks ago. The maintenance industry is already suffering from
the decline in air traffic. The full extent will hit us with a delay,
which means a forecast is currently not possible, but first impacts
are massive. Everything depends on the duration of the crisis and how
our customers will recover from it. We have prepared ourselves with a
very comprehensive package of measures - also, to be able to deliver
at any time. Especially now, our customers need a reliable technical
partner."

The year 2019 continued a phase of strong global growth. Over the
past five years, Lufthansa Technik AG's revenue has grown by almost
60 percent. In the last financial year alone, the company acquired 25
new customers and signed 625 contracts with new business worth EUR
4.1bn. Compared to 2018, investments increased by 28 percent from EUR
244 million to EUR 313 million. On annual average, in 2019 Lufthansa
Technik employeed almost 26,000 people worldwide.

The strategy of long-term partnerships with engine and component
manufacturers (Original Equipment Manufacturers) reached important
milestones with the start of operations at the two joint ventures
XEOS (with GE Aviation) and EME Aero (with MTU Aero Engines) in 2019.
Lufthansa Technik also continued to drive the digitalization of the
industry with its AVIATAR platform: More than 30 different modules
are now offered to meet the various needs of airlines.  

"In the past year, we successfully continued our growth path: More
than 5,000 serviced aircraft from more than 850 customers speak for
themselves," explained Johannes Bußmann. "Due to the international
nature of our company, we believe that we can cope with the effects
of the crisis."

It is not yet clear how quickly the industry will recover from the
decline. It was last forecasted to grow by an average of seven
percent per year until 2029.