Cargolux posted a consolidated net profit after tax of US$211.2 million for 2018, representing a 72.7% year-on-year increase.

According to the airline, it managed to grow its net profit for a second consecutive year while maintaining an economically, socially and environmentally sustainable business, despite the global softening in market demand in the second half of the year, a shorter peak period compared to 2017, trade war uncertainty, geopolitical unrest and Brexit.

Higher demand for Cargolux’s transport solutions contributed positively to the airline’s yields. Block hours rose by 3% to 138,179. The group’s total freight tonne kilometres across its network came to 8.4 billion, while available tonne kilometres increased to 12.4 billion, resulting in an overall load factor of 67.9% for 2018. Aircraft utilization rate remained stable.

“Cargolux achieved exceptional financial results in 2018 despite slower economic growth in the second half of the year,” said Richard Forson, president and CEO of Cargolux. “Strong focus on the management of our capacity and yields, increased demand for specialized shipments, a record year for our charter division and the diversification into offering ACMI solutions all contributed to the performance achieved. Our employees demonstrated once again that hard work, dedication and expertise are at the heart of our company’s success and sustainability.”

In 2018, the airline continued its transformation with a complete IT overhaul to streamline processes, synergize teams internally and enhance customer experience. This project aligns with the company’s philosophy to be lean, green, flexible and adaptable. Together with other ongoing digitalization initiatives, Cargolux hopes to stay at the forefront of the industry and keep providing quality services in an efficient manner.

In line with the United Nations’ sustainable development goals, Cargolux is exploring new avenues to further reduce its carbon footprint and has adopted the International Air Transport Association’s short- and long-term goals for airlines to reduce CO2 emissions with the aim of eventually achieving carbon-neutral growth. The company currently has 15 different fuel-saving programmes in place to optimize operations while reducing the negative environmental impact.

In 2018, Cargolux and its subsidiary Cargolux Italia saved 6,270 tonnes of fuel and 16,750 tonnes of CO2 emissions, despite company growth.

To promote environmental awareness and best practices in the air cargo industry, Cargolux has banned commodities such as lion bone or hunting trophies across the network. The airline also joined the United for Wildlife International Taskforce on the Transportation of Illegal Wildlife Products in October to combat illegal animal trafficking.