OREANDA-NEWS. May 3, 2012. Record quarterly revenue for the Passenger Airline Group / High fuel costs, taxes, fees and charges depress earnings

Deutsche Lufthansa AG generated revenue of EUR 6.6bn in the first quarter of 2012, 5.6 per cent more than in the same period last year. The increase was mainly due to higher traffic revenue, which in turn stemmed from a higher sales volume and price increases in the passenger business. However, increased fuel costs, the air traffic tax imposed in Germany and Austria and the costs of emissions trading in force in Germany since 2012 all had an adverse effect on the Group's operating result. At the end of the first quarter it came to EUR -381m, a fall of EUR 212m compared with the figure for the same quarter a year ago. Altogether the net result for the period was EUR -397m. The increase of EUR 110m is largely due to the negative changes in the time value of hedging options recognised in the first quarter of last year. Cash flow from operating activities rose to EUR 833m and made it possible to generate a free cash flow of EUR 540m. Christoph Franz, Chairman of the Executive Board and CEO of Deutsche Lufthansa AG, said, "Higher taxes, fees and charges put a massive strain on our quarterly result. It was well down on last year despite record revenue. We cannot wait until politicians also recognise the damage that one-sided taxes and charges do to aviation and to Europe's reputation as a place to do business. Our SCORE programme is our own response to these additional burdens.