Chile’s Latam Airlines swings to profit in third quarter

SANTIAGO (Reuters) – LATAM Airlines (OTC:) posted a third-quarter net profit of $232 million on Monday, a turnaround from a loss of $296 million in the same period last year when the carrier was still in the process of its bankruptcy proceedings.

Revenue for the Santiago-based airline rose during the July-to-September period by 18% to total $3.06 billion.

The quarterly results come amid a stronger year for the airline, which also raised its full-year guidance in the second quarter following its exit late last year from pandemic-related bankruptcy proceedings, with a robust $8 billion reorganization plan.

Last quarter, LATAM upwardly revised its forecasts for 2023. The company now anticipates EBITDAR to range between $2.35 billion and $2.50 billion, up from the previous estimate of $2 billion to $2.2 billion.

“We now think we’re going to be in the upper end of that range,” said Chief Financial Officer Ramiro Alfonsin in a call with analysts on Monday.

The carrier also slightly lifted projections for its fleet size, now estimating 341 aircraft by 2025.

LATAM also increased its revenue projection in August, predicting it will land between $11.3 billion and $11.6 billion, from $11 billion to $11.5 billion.

Alfonsin added LATAM expected to be in “the high end” of guidance for other metrics beyond EBITDAR, but did not specify further.