By Fabian Cambero
SANTIAGO (Reuters) – LATAM Airlines, South America’s largest carrier, on Tuesday reported a net loss of $890 million for the second quarter, hit by the coronavirus pandemic that drove the company into a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing in May.
The carrier posted a 75% drop in revenue between April and June due to widespread travel restrictions around Latin America.
“COVID-19 has had a very significant impact, which is reflected in the company’s numbers,” LATAM CFO Ramiro Alfonsin told journalists.
LATAM and its rivals are struggling to preserve cash while operating just a small fraction of their usual flights. The carrier has laid off thousands of employees and said it will transform itself into a smaller company for years to come.
LATAM’s Chapter 11 filing has allowed it to raise more than $1.3 billion in cash from investors, although it still needs the approval from a bankruptcy judge before it can access the money.
Alfonsin said the airline had operated during the quarter at 6% of its normal capacity and that demand in Brazil, its largest market, was showing some signs of recovery.
He added LATAM ended the quarter with a total cash position of $1.4 billion.
(Reporting by Fabian Cambero; Editing by Shri Navaratnam and Tom Hogue)
