With consolidated revenues the same as the previous year at £2.7 billion (€3.2 billion), the company said this is despite “negative impact of foreign exchanges and the expiration of two (of its) hub catering contracts in South Korea and Italy.”
It also saw sales up £18.8m (€22m), with adjusted EBIT up 73% year-on-year at £98m (€115m).
LSG Sky Chefs, the company’s catering arm, meanwhile won ‘important’ contract extensions, including United Airlines, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Cathay Dragon and TAP Portugal; as well as acquiring two new train clients.
Chief financial officer Kristin Neumann commented: “In 2018 we successfully continued the sustainable transformation of our business model by adjusting our classic-catering operational landscape in Europe, while expanding our offerings for the onboard-retail market.
“A market-oriented mix of production modules, tailored logistics and valuable partnerships will enable us to serve a higher number of airports without a physical presence at every location.
“This will increase our flexibility and agility, which are important prerequisites to succeed in the ever-changing aviation market.
“Furthermore, our Retail inMotion expert team revamped and expanded its digital-retail platform. It has attracted an impressive 23 new airline and train customers since 2017, including prestigious carriers like Etihad and SWISS.
Chief executive Erdmann Rauer added: “Moving forward, we will concentrate on taking advantage of the multiple opportunities offered by digitalization.
“This will impact our way of doing business in every possible respect by creating new products and applications, and facilitating our workflows in the backend.
“At the frontend, our customers and consumers will ultimately benefit from an enhanced travel experience appealing to their strong desire for individualization, mobility and convenience.”
LSG Group said it expects 2019 revenues to remain the same as 2018, with an adjusted EBIT margin between 2-4%.