By Joanna Plucinska

LONDON, March 6 (Reuters) – Lufthansa on Friday reported better results ‌for its 2025 financial year than ‌expected as stricter financial management and fleet turnover ​helped it manage costs and maximise profits.

Lufthansa reported an adjusted operating profit of 2 billion euros ($2.32 billion), compared with 1.9 ‌billion euros projected ⁠by a Lufthansa-compiled analyst poll. That’s up from 1.6 billion ⁠euros in adjusted operating profit reported in 2024.

The German airline group also reported ​an operating ​profit margin of ​4.9%, up from ‌4.4% in 2024.

Lufthansa wants to grow operating margins back to 8-10% between 2028 and 2030 from 4.4% in 2024, but strikes, like the most recent one ‌on February 12, have ​made it challenging for ​the company to ​mitigate lost profits.

It added that ‌the outlook for 2026 ​was murky ​due to geopolitical uncertainty. It projected capacity growth of 4%, as well ​as growth ‌in revenue and its profit margin.

($1 = ​0.8610 euros)

(Reporting by Joanna Plucinska, editing ​by Miranda Murray)