Deutsche Lufthansa still expecting revenue and adjusted EBIT to be high in FY2016 than FY2015

Deutsche Lufthansa AG described (03-May-2016) its 1Q2016 performance as "solid" and reiterated "it is still expecting revenue and adjusted EBIT to be slightly high in financial year 2016 as compared with the previous year". The group said the main influences on earnings remain the oil price and changes in the jet fuel crack, the euro exchange rate, especially against the US dollar and the Swiss franc, the yields at the Passenger Airline Group and the course of collective bargaining at Lufthansa. Overall risks from underlying macroeconomic and geo-political developments remain unchanged and represent an uncertainty for the development of revenue and earnings, especially for the Passenger Airline Group. The group added, "Yields are under particular pressure on services to and from South America, as a result of the region's currently weak economies. In the Asia traffic region lower booking volumes from Chinese and Japanese travel groups lead to lower volumes. In contrast, Europe and North America - Lufthansa's biggest and most important traffic regions - are both showing more stable trends. Group CFO Simone Menne said, "The trends we have seen in the last few months are likely to continue throughout the present quarter. The intensity of the competition and the resulting pricing pressures will not ease, not least because of the low fuel costs. This is why it is important that we continue to work consistently on our cost positions. We remain fully committed to our goal of reducing our unit costs this year net of fuel and currency impacts". [more - original PR]