COLOGNE (dpa-AFX) - German aviation group Deutsche Lufthansa AG (DLAKF.PK, DLAKY.PK) said that realignment of several corporate divisions is on track. It said that its CEO and Chairman of the Executive Board of the company, Christoph Franz, is stepping down with an operating profit of 697 million euros in the books for 2013.
Franz stressed at the Annual General Meeting that, in light of the rapid changes in the airline industry, the success that the Group had achieved in realigning several corporate divisions was just as important as the positive financial results.
Franz said he felt less good about the current political conditions affecting aviation in Germany and Europe, which have resulted in serious competitive disadvantages for the Lufthansa Group.
In the Group's core business all of the passenger airlines - namely, Lufthansa, Germanwings, Swiss and Austrian Airlines - achieved clear improvements. This turnaround in the operating result was one of the factors behind the Group's proposed dividend payment of 0.45 euros per share, which the shareholders will vote on today.
As of May 1, the CEO and Chairman of the Executive Board leading the company into this future will be Carsten Spohr, the Executive Board member previously responsible for Lufthansa German Airlines.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX