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Lufthansa announces record revenue but Iran warns ’ war fuel costs will hit annual profits

by the Logistics TransportIn the the General Assembly

The rise in jet fuel prices has become a primary concern for the European travel industry as Lufthansa’ finds itself at the center of this crisis.

According to Lufthansa’'s latest earnings report, the airline expects an additional €1.7 billion ($2 billion) in 2026 as rising jet fuel prices continue to put pressure on the sector. $) The cost of fuel is waiting for the load.

The need to avoid certain airspaces led to longer flight times, which naturally increased consumption. These adjusted routes also require more staff hours and higher maintenance cycles, adding layers of complexity to the already strained global supply chain.

As reported by Euronews’, global airlines cancelled nearly 13,000 flights this May, while Lufthansa canceled 20,000 short-haul flights by October in an effort to reduce fuel consumption alone.

This reduction in capacity is a direct response to the unsustainable cost of operating older, less fuel-efficient aircraft during peak prices.

Although Lufthansa has managed to remain profitable, increases in jet fuel prices have forced the company to advise passengers to book their holidays as early as possible so as not to pay any further surcharges.

The company is currently investing heavily in the “filo modernization” program to reduce these risks over the long term, but the direct impact of fuel fluctuation continues to weigh on the balance sheet.

Lufthansa remains committed to its financial goals, but volatility in the global oil market remains the biggest variable in its 2026 outlook.

CFO Till Streichert, “We are pleased with the first quarter […] but also the current situation forces us to meticulously examine every available tool to reduce costs, increase efficiency and reduce risks to maintain our ability to act decisively. Our annual profit will probably be lower than initially predicted, ” said.

GermanyLufthansa aircraft parked at the airport in Frankfurt, ’, 12 March 2026

The Lufthansa Group announced a significant financial performance in 2025, revealing the highest revenue in its history. Income, compared to the previous year %5 increase to 39.6 billion Euro’.

According to the latest figures, the airline group also reported operating profit compared to 2024. %He saw a 20 increase, which underlined the strong recovery in passenger demand.

2026In the first quarter of ’, IranDespite the difficulties associated with the conflict involving ’, annual income %8 is increased; This includes variable jet fuel prices and additional costs of €1.7 billion, resulting from the suspension of dozens of routes.

The company has generally kept its capacity stable, with slight growth in long-distance traffic compensating for capacity drops in the short and medium-distance segments.

Lufthansa Technik and Lufthansa Cargo also contributed significantly to the increase in demand for maintenance, repair and overhaul services, as well as the marketing of the ITA Airways ’ cargo area.

With the Lufthansa Group again expecting a strong summer travel season, global demand for air travel remains high and continues to prove its resilience even in times of crisis.

CEO Carsten Spohr, “, said: "In the first quarter, we saw a significant improvement over the previous year's financial results […], but the ongoing crisis in the Middle East, coupled with rising fuel costs and operational constraints, creates enormous challenges for the world as a whole, global air travel and our company.

Spohr, “However, we are resilient about our ability to absorb these effects. This applies to both our above-average protection against fuel price fluctuations and our multi-center, multi-airline strategy, which gives us more flexibility in our route network and fleet development.

China condemns ‘Made in Europe’ crackdown, considers retaliation

by the Logistics TransportIn the the General Assembly

China's Commerce Ministry has criticized AB’'s Industrial Acceleration Act for allegedly imposing multiple restrictive requirements on foreign investment.

The European Commission launched the Industrial Accelerator Act in March, which aims to increase demand for low-carbon, European-made technologies and products through a series of measures.

A spokesperson for China's Ministry of Commerce, ’, said Beijing ’ gave official feedback to the EU administration on Friday, but told the public on Monday that the move imposes numerous restrictive requirements on foreign investment and could violate World Trade Organization (WTO) principles.

The “ label of preferential ”AB origin in public procurement and public support policies creates investment barriers and institutional discrimination, the spokesperson said.

He added that China is ready to engage in dialogue with the EU to reduce the impact of ’'s policy on the Asian giant, but if this fails, Beijing may introduce countermeasures to ’ to tightly protect “'s business interests.

European Commission spokesman Olof Gill said the bloc's response to Beijing’'s comments was “simple”.

“Our recommendations are carefully adjusted to achieve specific economic broader goals for our citizens. We communicate with our global partners as much as possible. We are happy to interact and listen to their opinions, ” said.

AB’'s Industrial Acceleration Act targets three strategic sectors: clean technologies, automobile manufacturers and energy-intensive industries such as aluminum, steel and cement.

The proposal includes threshold values such as 70 percent for electric vehicles, 25 percent for aluminum and 25 percent for cement.

Stéphane Séjourné, European Commissioner for Industry, said at the opening: “This (Industrial Accelerator Act) will drive taxpayers' money towards European production, creating jobs, reducing our dependencies and strengthening our economic security and sovereignty.”

The European Commission proposed the Act after the disappearance of more than 200,000 ’ jobs in the European ’ in energy-intensive industries and the automotive sector since 2024’, which envisages 600,000 losses in automobile construction alone over the decade.

The Commission's proposal to solve the problem now needs to be approved by the European Parliament, the legislators of AB’, and the Council of Europe, which represents the member states.

Commerzbank reports increased profit as it fends off UniCredit offer

by the Logistics TransportIn the the General Assembly

Germany's Commerzbank reported better-than-expected results in the first three months of 2025. The bank's net profit replaces the expected declining net income %It increased by 12 to 834 million Euro’.

Revenues of the lender %Net interest income was slightly lower than a year ago, with a 12-year increase to €3.1 billion, compared to €2.07 billion at the end of the first quarter of 2025’. Meanwhile, net commission income in the same period due to the influence of the strong securities business %6 increased to 1 billion Euro’.

Bettina Orlopp, CEO of Commerzbank, said: "By demonstrating that we can grow even in times of economic hardship, we have achieved the highest quarterly profit since 2011’. We are on our way to implementing our “‘Momentum’ strategy. We plan to bring more capital to our shareholders in the coming years.”

Commerzbank has completed the €1 billion ’ share buyback program from November 2024’, and also offers to pay a dividend of €0.65 per share to be agreed at the Annual General Assembly ’ on May 15, 2025’.

Better-than-expected results come at a time when the German bank is striving to fend off takeover moves by Italian banking group Unicredit’.

Unicredit recently acquired a large stake in Commerzbank’ta ,9’a was taken out; this is what Unicredit’in needs to IPO for the entire bank %It's just below the 30 threshold.

In February, Commerzbank announced that the bank's workforce would be about %He announced that he had taken cost-cutting measures, including the dismissal of 10’.

Employee representatives of the German bank are also holding a protest against a possible takeover, just hours before Commerzbank’'s annual plenary meeting in ’ on May 15.

Commerzbank confirms this year's targets

The German bank said it expects a higher net result of around €2.4 billion for the entire year following restructuring expenses this year.

The bank allocated €40 million for restructuring expenses in the first quarter for its early partial retirement program, which it will offer later this year. That's part of the layoffs; The lender is currently negotiating with employee representative committees.

In addition, to maintain profitability, Commerzbank is also reducing its dependence on net interest income (the difference between what it earns from loans and what it pays on deposits) as interest rates fall.

Financial equity profitability in the first quarter of last year %From the 10.5 level %increased to 11.1’e; That's a strong seasonal figure. Commerzbank CFO’su Carsten Schmitt, “%"We are on track to achieve our goal all year round around 9.6," ” said. “We are also reducing our dependence on net interest income. We confirm our 2025 forecast.”

Audi achieves strong performance backed by electric vehicle sales

by the Logistics TransportIn the the General Assembly

German car giant Audi announced the results of the first quarter of 2025’ on Monday, and compared to the same period of 2024’ %It reported revenue of €15.4 billion, up 12.4 percent. The main reason for this was a better mix and higher battery electric vehicle (BEV) sales.

This happened despite obstacles such as increased competition, a weak global economic outlook, and geopolitical instability.

Operating profit in the first quarter of the year reached 537 million Euro’. Return on sales %It was 3.5; This was mainly due to the high costs of goods sold, the provisions of the CO2 regulation and the high BEV share. Net cash flow was -61 million euros.

Audi, worldwide in the first quarter of the year %It delivered 46,371 electric cars, up 30.1 percent. France’ in demand for these electric vehicles %While there was an increase of 169’, demand also increased in Switzerland’ %It's up 120.

EV sales in Netherlands’ %While increasing by 87 percent, Norway’te %An increase of 64’ was recorded. Similarly, Audi’nin in electric cars in the German domestic market %There was an increase of 59’.

Total Audi deliveries reached 383,401 vehicles in the first quarter; This is compared to the same quarter of 2024. %That's 3.4 down.

Gernot Döllner, CEO of Audi’, said in a earnings press release on the Volkswagen Group’'s website: The first few months of “2025’ saw us take decisive steps towards repositioning our company. This includes the future-oriented agreement signed in March between the company management and the business council, which aims to increase productivity, speed and flexibility at our German facilities.”

“ will continue to be quite challenging this year due to global economic conditions. However, Audi has started to implement its strategy and continues to do so. Our model initiative is now step-by-step into global markets. We are especially encouraged by the sales and order purchases of our new electric models.”

Audi’'s CFO ’ (CFO) Jürgen Rittersberger also said: “Our key figures for the first quarter clearly show that we need to continue to improve our efficiency and competitiveness, and therefore continue the transformation of Audi’ with all our strength.”

He added: “The agreement for the future has set the right course. Together, we will overcome challenges and necessary changes and bring Audi’ back to the forefront.”

As for the full year's outlook, the Audi Group expects revenue to be between €67.5 billion and €72.5 billion, while operating margin is likely to be between €67.5 billion and €72.5 billion. %With the 7 %He expects it to be between 9. Net cash flow is expected to be between €3 billion and €4 billion this year.

In its earnings press release for the first quarter of 2025, the company said: In the current high volatility environment, especially in the USA, the financial effects of import tariffs cannot be assessed with certainty.

“As certain parts of the agreement are being worked on, the future financial implications of the agreement are currently being assessed. As a result, the estimate does not yet include these two factors.”

Audi Sees Increased Demand for All-Electric Vehicles

Audi’'s all-electric model deliveries in the first quarter of 2025 compared to the same quarter last year %It increased by 50.4 to 25,129 units. Germany’da Audi, %An increase of 59’ delivered 8,640 fully electric vehicles.

Europe excluding GermanyGeneral Audi brand deliveries in ’ in the first quarter of the year %3 declined to 112,707 units. Germany’da Audi deliveries in the first three months of the year %It increased by 4.8 to 48,447 units.

The company also experienced its best first quarter to date in terms of deliveries across all drive types in Poland, Croatia and Austria’.

North American deliveries (except Mexico), mainly due to the fact that some models are currently undergoing generation change %It declined by 2.1 to 48,599 units.

Deliveries in China’ in the first quarter of the year compared to the same quarter last year %7 declined to 144,471 units. The main reason for this was the increased competition in the Chinese domestic market.

That's why Audi is working to rapidly grow its electric vehicle portfolio and strengthen its Chinese operations with local consumer-specific models, as well as partnerships with local partners.

AI outperforms Trump’'s tariff woes, while Microsoft and Meta outperform forecasts

by the Logistics TransportIn the the General Assembly

Microsoft and Meta Platforms reported that March quarter earnings exceeded market expectations; He suggested that strong demand for artificial intelligence (AI) helped both companies cope with the economic uncertainty stemming from tariffs. Highlights from the two US tech giants include Microsoft’'s Azure cloud business and Meta’'s advertising revenue; Both of these are significantly supported by artificial intelligence developments.

Shares of Microsoft and Meta’ in after-hours transactions, respectively %7 and 7 %Increased by 5.4 to boost U.S. stock futures. Shares of Microsoft’ are set to compensate for all losses this year, while shares of Meta’ have been around since the beginning of the year. %It continues its decline of 3.7’.

Microsoft’'s Azure growth accelerates

Microsoft’'s core cloud business (Azure and other related services) compared to the previous quarter in the third quarter of fiscal year 2025 Increased by ’ per year %It grew by 33 ’. Wall Street predicted that annual growth would be 29 percent.

Azure’'s quarterly growth Connected his ’ to artificial intelligence services; In the previous quarter, this %It was 13’. CEO Satya Nadella said: “Cloud and artificial intelligence are key inputs for every business to increase output, reduce costs, and accelerate growth” added: “From artificial intelligence infrastructure and platforms to applications, we innovate across the entire stack to serve our customers.”

Microsoft launched its AI leadership in late 2023’ with tens of billions of dollars invested in OpenAI’, the owner of ChatGPT’. It also integrated AI tools into the Office 365 suite and introduced chatbot-style Copilot assistants. According to Nadella’'s earnings statement, more than 15 million people currently use the GitHub Copilot assistant, a figure that has quadrupled from a year ago.

Amy Hood, Microsoft’'s vice president and chief financial officer, said: "Influenced by the ongoing demand for our differentiated offerings, Microsoft Cloud revenue is increasing on an annual basis. (in fixed currency increase) and a strong quarter of $42.4 billion, ” said.

Total revenue, compared to the previous year increased to 70.1 billion dollars (62 billion euros). Earnings per diluted share (EPS) increments of 3.46 $ (€3.06) and amounted to 3.22 $ It easily exceeded the consensus estimate (€2.85). All major segments (Microsoft 365 commercial and consumer products, LinkedIn and Dynamics products, and cloud services) recorded double-digit growth.

Josh Gilabert, market analyst at eToro Australia, “, said: "This result once again shows that Microsoft’ is not just driving the wave of AI, it's driving it.

But the wide-ranging tariffs imposed by Trump’ in April could still have a delayed impact on Microsoft’'s operations; But most of them are for countries other than China. creased to 10’.

In early April, Microsoft scaled down some of its global data center projects. A company spokesperson at the time, “, said that as demand for artificial intelligence continued to grow and our data center presence continued to expand, the changes we made showed the flexibility of our strategy. Nadella previously announced that Microsoft ’ aims to invest $80 billion (€70.7 billion) in data center infrastructure in the financial year 2025, which ends in June.

The quarterly capital expenditure, including leasing, fell for the first time in two years, to $21.4 billion (€19 billion).

Meta’'s advertising revenue grew solidly under the influence of artificial intelligence

Meta Platforms also announced strong results; Total Income Annually %It increased by 16 to $42.31 billion (37.41 billion euros), exceeding the expected $41.4 billion (36.6 billion euros). Earnings per share %It rose 35 percent to $6.43 (€5.69), well above the $5.28 (€4.67) forecast. Total sales of Meta’ %The advertising revenue, which makes up 98’, exceeded analysts' expectations and amounted to $41.39 billion (€36.6 billion).

CEO Mark Zuckerberg, “We made a strong start to an important year ​​; Our community continues to grow and our business is performing very well, ” said. “We are making good progress on artificial intelligence glasses and Meta artificial intelligence, which currently has almost a billion activities per month.” Meta AI is the standalone productive AI product developed in competition with the firm's OpenAI’nin ChatGPT’si.

Zuckerberg added during his earnings statement: “Our business is also performing very well and I think we are in a good position to manage macroeconomic uncertainty.”

The company plans to increase spending on artificial intelligence infrastructure; capital expenditures are expected to increase from the previous estimate of $60 billion to $65 billion, ranging from $64 billion (56.6 billion euros) to $72 billion (63.7 billion euros). Meta noted in its earnings report: “This updated view reflects additional data center investments to support our AI efforts, as well as an increase in the expected cost of infrastructure hardware. 2025Most of our capital expenditures in ’ will continue to be diverted to our core business.”

However, the company warned that the European Commission's recent regulatory decision could damage the user experience and affect European revenue from the third quarter onwards.

Air France-KLM sees improvement in performance as passenger demand grows

by the Logistics TransportIn the the General Assembly

The company announced on Thursday that Air France-KLM will increase ’'s revenue by 2024. %It announced an increase of 4.8 to 31.5 billion Euro’.

In 2024, earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and depreciation (EBITDA) amounted to 4.2 billion euros, an increase of 36 million euros annually.

They come in the fourth quarter. %Increased by 6.4 to 7.9 billion Euro’.

The main reason for this was the strong demand for passengers, especially in premium cabins and in the North Atlantic market.

Shares of Air France-KLM’ on Thursday morning Increased above ’.

A less positive development is that revenue from the firm's operating activities amounted to €1.6 billion at 2024’, indicating a decline of €111 million.

Net income in 2024’te was 489m euros, down 501m euros.

The airline's cargo division also experienced a strong peak season in 2024’te compared to the previous year, partly driven by growing Asian demand.

Aside from increasing e-commerce orders, disruptions in ocean shipping, which continue mostly due to unrest in the Red Sea ’, have contributed to better cargo performance.

Air France-KLM’'s fuel costs in the fourth quarter were also lower than expected.

Air France-KLM CEO Benjamin Smith said in a statement that ’Air France-KLM achieved a particularly strong result in the fourth quarter of 2024“, completing a year shaped by both operational and external challenges. Throughout these downsides, we have remained true to our commitment to delivering world-class, customer-centric service and advancing our sustainability roadmap through continuous fleet renewal and ambitious SAF initiatives, ” said.

“We have also expanded our global reach by offering new routes and strengthening strategic partnerships, including our recent acquisition of a minority stake in SAS’, which is already delivering promising results. We will continue to implement our strategic roadmap for 2025’te and continue the transformation as our number one priority. In this context, we maintain our confidence in achieving our medium-term goals through a disciplined approach to capital allocation and cost efficiency, ” said.

KLM reports disappointing results for 2024

KLM posted weak earnings for 2024, falling 234m euros to 416m euros as a result of the activity.

They will come %Although it increased by 5.4 percent, earnings were still limited due to increased equipment, airport fees, and staff costs.

The airline plans to increase the EBITDA ’ to “ 450 million euros in the near term, and will be operating between 2026 and 2028. %He announced that he was targeting 8 profit margins.

This is expected to go a long way in supporting the airline's future strategic and fleet renewal plans.

KLM CEO ’ Marjan Rintel, our “2024 results show two different aspects. On the one hand, we still have our flight capacity. %We don't work at 100’, and costs continue to rise sharply. As a result, we risk not earning enough to continue investing in our future, but I am confident that our plans will help us improve our operations and finances in the long run, ” said.

The year “2024 also brought good news and progress. We saw increased customer demand for airline tickets, provided operational improvements, welcomed the first Airbus A321neo’ and successfully completed the transformation of our highest-rated class, our Premium Comfort Class.”