Cargolux CEO Richard Forson (left) and board chair Tom Weisgerber. Photo: Maison Moderne

Cargolux CEO Richard Forson (left) and board chair Tom Weisgerber. Photo: Maison Moderne

In 2023, Cargolux posted record--if you don’t count the pandemic years, which were full of anomalies--net profits. The cargo operator also launched an aerial fire-fighting activities last year, and took over Luxair’s cargo activities.

Looking at the 2023 annual report for Cargolux, four figures jump out immediately:

—revenues of under $3bn, representing a drop of 41% compared to 2022 (notably, management considers 2022 the tail end of the pandemic boom years); according to the International Air Traffic Association (Iata), global demand for 2023--measured in freight tonne-kilometres (FTK)--was down by 1.9% compared with 2022 and down 3.6% compared with 2019

—a profit of $286m after tax, a record outside the pandemic years

—the purchase of three Air Tractor AT-802F Fire Bosses to launch the airline’s fire-fighting business

—a payload factor of 65.3%, down 3.9 percentage points; according to Iata, the best geographical average in the world in 2023 was the European average, at 56.2%, which testifies to Cargolux’s operational ability to get from point A to point B with as much load as possible

Key messages

“A number of strategic decisions were taken in 2023,” said Cargolux chair Tom Weisgerber.

Indeed, here are seven of them:

1. The takeover of Luxair’s cargo activities as of 1 May 2023. Luxcargo Handling has one of the two licences at the airport; it will take over 1,200 employees in this branch, which had been consolidated in Luxair’s accounts. In 2022, this activity represented revenues of €108m for Luxair. However, Lux-Airport has now taken over the land and leases it to Cargolux, which will have to cover the cost of human resources and leasing in order to make a profit.

2. The start of fire-fighting activities. Aquarius Aerial Firefighting already has four aircraft and four pilots completing their initial training. This initiative involves new specialist pilots and volunteer Cargolux pilots.

3. First “green fuel” agreements signed. As long as it is available in sufficient quantities, said CEO  by way of caveat. In addition to the agreement with Norway’s Norsk e-Fuel, Cargolux has joined the Nacre consortium working on hydrogen fuel.

4. An operating profit of 8.6%. This figure comes from , the company’s financial director, according to whom Cargolux is better positioned than some of its larger competitors (like Lufthansa Cargo with 7.4%).

5. $2b in cash. With such a big pot of money, Cargolux can see the future, said the company’s CEO. The volatility of the current climate--with wars in the Ukraine and the Middle East--is affecting the cargo business, albeit marginally. Cargolux is committed to renewing its fleet.

6. New VP in charge of maintenance and production. Stephane Kastler, who has been with Cargolux since 2007, has taken over this role from Onno Pietersma.

7. A dividend of $120m. Shareholders, mainly the Luxembourg State (both directly and indirectly), will share a dividend of $120m this year.

Additional statistics, below, are for now available in French only.

This article in Paperjam. It has been translated and edited for Delano.

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