Lufthansa’s profit soars in 2006

Lufthansa’s profit soars in 2006 Deutsche Lufthansa AG posted a record net profit of 803 million euros ($1.05 billion) in 2006, up 77.3 percent from 453 million euros in the prior year.
   The group’s annual operating profit gained 46.4 percent to 845 million euros ($1.1 billion), while revenue improved 9.9 percent to a best-ever 19.85 billion euros ($26 billion).
   The operating result at the airline’s logistics unit, Lufthansa Cargo, was negatively effected by about 62 million euros ($81.3 million) relating to agreements to settle class-action lawsuits alleging price-fixing in the U.S. and Canada.
   Lufthansa Cargo posted an operating result of 82 million euros ($107.5 million) for the year, down 24 percent from 108 million euros in 2005. Revenue at Lufthansa Cargo rose 3.4 percent to 2.85 billion euros ($3.74 billion) after a 1.3 percent volume increase to 1.76 million tons of freight and mail.
   “Revenues are growing and we have a firm grip on costs,” said Wolfgang Mayrhuber, Lufthansa's chief executive officer. “At the latest next year, we intend to lift our operating profit above the 1 billion-euro threshold.”