COLOGNE (dpa-AFX) - Lufthansa Group (DLAKF, DLAKY) reported a first quarter net loss of 2.1 billion euros compared to a loss of 342 million euros, prior year. Loss per share was 4.44 euros compared to a loss of 0.72 euros. Adjusted EBIT was minus 1.2 billion euros compared to minus 336 million euros. The travel restrictions imposed due to coronavirus have significantly impacted the Lufthansa Group's earnings development in the first quarter of 2020.
First quarter Group revenue declined by 18 percent to 6.4 billion euros. In total, the airlines in the Lufthansa Group carried 21.8 million passengers in the first three months, down 26.1 percent. Seat load factor fell by 4.7 percentage points to 73.3 percent.
For 2020, Lufthansa Group continues to expect a significant decline in adjusted EBIT. The Group noted that the uncertain further development of the pandemic continues to make it impossible to make a precise forecast.
From mid-June, Lufthansa Group's airlines will be significantly expanding their schedules to around 2,000 weekly connections to more than 130 destinations worldwide. The Executive Board has decided to increase the offered capacity in September by up to 40 percent of the original schedule.
Also, the Lufthansa Group plans to significantly reduce unit costs compared with pre-crisis levels. Among other things, fixed costs have been reduced by short-time working for around 87,000 employees, the Group said.
'In our operating business we are currently consuming around 800 million euros of our liquidity reserve per month. In addition, the reimbursement of cancelled airline tickets and the repayment of financial liabilities that have fallen due will have a foreseeable negative impact on our liquidity development,' said Thorsten Dirks, Member of the Executive Board Digital and Finance at Deutsche Lufthansa AG.
On 31 March 2020, the Lufthansa Group's liquidity amounted to around 4.3 billion euros.
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