MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

LAN Chile’s passenger and cargo businesses grow 24.5% and 60.3%

A common sight in hemispheric airports

LAN Airlines, Chile’s flag carrier second-quarter net profit jumped to 60.6 million US dollars in line with market expectations, from 4.2 million USD a year earlier, the flagship carrier reported Tuesday.

Continued improvements in LAN's passenger business and particularly its cargo business were responsible for its robust earnings, the company said.

Consolidated sales surged to 1.03 billion, from 785 million USD a year earlier, as income from LAN's passenger and cargo businesses grew 24.5% and 60.3%, respectively.

Passenger business accounts for 66% of sales, while cargo business makes up 31%, the company reported. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization gained 83% to 196 million, from 107.1 million USD.

LAN recently agreed to purchase 50 short-range Airbus A320 family aircraft, increasing its investment plan until 2018 to 7.70 billion from a previous estimate of 5.89 billion. The new planes have a list price of 4.15 billion USD and bring LAN's total orders for Airbus A320 aircraft to 95 until 2016.

Last June, Fitch confirmed LAN's international Investment Grade credit rating at BBB with a 'Stable' outlook.

LAN Airlines is one of the leading passenger and cargo airlines in Latin America. The company and its affiliates serve over 70 destinations around the world through an extensive network that offers full connectivity within Latin America, while also linking the region with North America, Europe and the South Pacific, as well as 70 additional international destinations through its various alliances.

LAN Airlines and its affiliates have a leading position in their respective domestic markets of Chile and Peru as well as an important presence in the Argentinean domestic markets and having completed one year in the Ecuadorian domestic market.

Currently, LAN Airlines and its affiliates operate one of the most modern fleets in the world, with 87 passenger aircraft, and its cargo subsidiary, LAN Cargo and its respective cargo affiliates, have a fleet of 11 dedicated freighters. The Company has one of the youngest fleets in the world, which has meant greater efficiency and a significant reduction in CO2 emissions, reflecting its strong commitment to environmental protection.