Aviation – fear of terrorism: Lufthansa shuns concrete profit forecast – Süddeutsche.de

Direct from the dpa news channel

Frankfurt / Main (dpa) – The Lufthansa afraid considering the fear of terrorism and booking burglary of a new concrete profit target for 2016 back on. In the middle of the main travel time of the year, the board may currently poor estimate how many people buy short notice tickets.

The uncertainty hit on ticket prices, said Chief Financial Officer Simone Menne almost two weeks after the profit warning the Dax Group in Frankfurt on Tuesday.

in addition, the freight division Lufthansa Cargo controls to an annual loss. Shareholders still should not have to fear for their dividend. “All that currently exists on indicators, makes us capable of dividends and takes a payoff to” Menne said. The last word but the Supervisory Board. Earlier, the aviation expert at Deutsche Bank, Anand Date, saw the Lufthansa dividend for this and next year at risk.

To create makes Europe’s airlines, the uncertainty of many customers. According Menne missing many group bookings from Asia and the US. On long-haul routes, the company earned good money otherwise. But the terrorist attacks in Europe seem to keep from Book travelwilling from afar. Together with the low price of oil and the competition in the industry, this provides significant drop in ticket prices

The Lufthansa sees why the annual results less clear. In late July, the Executive Board its forecast for adjusted earnings before interest and taxes ( adjusted Ebit) capped. Instead a slight increase – as initially planned – expected Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr now only receives less than the previous year’s 1.8 billion euros. That the group about a billion less for fuel outputs as 2015 no limit has already been taken into account.

CFO Menne that changes soon to drugmaker Boehringer Ingelheim wanted their earnings expectations for 2016 on Tuesday but move down , “We will express ourselves in the third quarter to ensure clearer forecast for the year,” she said. Analysts expect underlying EBIT of 1.45 billion euros. That would be 20 percent less than last year. Expected are also red numbers at Lufthansa Cargo: Freight airline is struggling with overcapacity and price erosion in the market and plans to cut up to 800 jobs

In the first half there was a total of better.. Especially the passenger business of the core brand Lufthansa helped the group to a higher operating profit. While consolidated sales as already known decreased due to lower ticket prices by two percent to 15 billion euros, putting the adjusted EBIT by 13 percent to 529 million euros. As gains made in the passenger division a loss of 45 million euros at Lufthansa Cargo and a decline in profits in the maintenance and catering business more than compensated for.

In the second quarter, the surplus on the other hand fell to 437 million euros. And for the second half of the Lufthansa-tip also expects that its average revenue per flown passenger kilometers turn eight to nine percent lower than a year earlier.

Despite the gloomier outlook Menne sees the Lufthansa on track. The unit costs – thus the costs per available seat kilometer – have decreased in the first half off of fuel and currency effects by 1.3 percent. For the second half of the year it has declined by two to three percent in the eye. “By this we have worked long,” said the manager. Such savings would Lufthansa independent of external influences such as oil prices or development benefit the ticket prices.