© Martín Bernetti
LATAM is undergoing a restructuring process under Chapter 11 of the US Bankruptcy Law, which it expects to end during the second half of 2022 to re-emerge competitive and with a good level of liquidity.
The Chilean-Brazilian airline LATAM Airlines reported this Tuesday a 51% drop in revenue in 2021 compared to 2019, the last year before the pandemic impacted the aviation industry, and a marked improvement in the fourth quarter.
The company’s total income last year reached 5,011.3 million dollars, the firm indicated during the delivery of results for the fourth quarter and annual results for 2021.
In the fourth quarter of last year, the airline reached total revenue from its operations of 1,995.9 million dollars, 30.5% less than the same period of 2019 before the pandemic, but 51.9% more than in the third quarter of 2021.
“For the first time since the start of the pandemic, the group posted a positive operating result, amounting to $73.4 million during the (fourth) quarter,” it said in a statement.
“We hope that the operation will continue to recover to reach the magnitudes that we knew in 2019, but we cannot lose sight of the fact that we find ourselves in an uncertain context not only due to the effects of the new variants of covid-19, but now also due to the tension of a warlike conflict (Russia-Ukraine) that has the world on alert and that impacts the price of oil,” LATAM General Manager Roberto Alvo said in a statement.
LATAM operations “reached 63.5% of 2019 levels during the (fourth) quarter” of last year, the firm noted. The rise translates into an increase in the use of its available capacity of 29.6% compared to the previous quarter.
LATAM is undergoing a restructuring process under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Law, which it expects to end during the second half of 2022 to re-emerge as a “renewed, more agile organization, with a solid balance sheet, a very competitive costs and a good level of liquidity,” the company said.
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