imago images / A. Friedrichs
Lufthansa: Adjusted operating loss increased to 1.2 billion euros in the first quarter.
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Lufthansa can no longer save itself from the corona crisis on its own. The Swiss parent published this assessment on Thursday after reporting an operating loss of EUR 1.2 billion for the first quarter.
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The company announced in Frankfurt that a significantly higher minus is expected for the current second quarter. It is currently not foreseeable when the flight operations can be expanded again.
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Hope for state aid
After renewed borrowing, Lufthansa currently has a total of 4.4 billion euros in liquid funds, which will, however, decrease significantly in the next few weeks, it said. “The group does not expect to be able to cover the emerging capital requirement with additional funds raised on the market.”
According to the information, Lufthansa is therefore “in intensive negotiations” with the governments of the airline’s home countries Germany, Switzerland, Austria and Belgium. There are various financing instruments to maintain solvency in the short term.
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In addition to guarantees, loans and silent participations, direct state participations are also being discussed. The talks continued. The Lufthansa Executive Board was confident that it could be successfully concluded.
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Fixed costs mean profit
Europe’s largest aviation group lost almost 1.4 billion euros in sales in March alone. In the entire quarter, revenues of EUR 6.4 billion were thus of a similar magnitude below the previous year’s figure of EUR 7.8 billion. The company put the operating loss at 1.2 billion euros.
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In the previous year, the loss in the traditionally weak quarter at the beginning of the year was 336 million euros. In addition, unfavorable fuel contracts and impairments of the aircraft will now put pressure on profits. Lufthansa plans to publish details in mid-May. (zas)
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