| Journal: TWUK | Section: |
| Title: | Issue Date: 26/06/00 |
| Author: | Page Number: 24 |
| Copyright: Other |
At stake: shareholders are to benefit from pre-tax profits
Lufthansa splits profit
LUFTHANSA is to pay shareholders a third of its annual pre-tax profit after bucking the trend for poor airline results.Stakeholders are in line for a payout of around £220m as the German flag carrier made £660m in the last financial year. This compares with a downturn in profits at European rivals British Airways and KLM.
Lufthansa chairman Jurgen Weber said savings from membership of Star Alliance and other bilateral agreements helped profits grow.
Weber added that further profit rises are expected from the carrier’s use of the Internet to cut costs and boost sales.
“We are evolving from an aviation group to an e-viation group,” he said. Addressing the airline’s annual meeting in Berlin, Weber said e-business was having a major effect on cost control, especially in the fields of reservations, information and technical areas.
However he was less upbeat about traditional aviation issues.
Weber continued to criticise European air traffic control and the lack of will from airport authorities in developing the Lufthansa hub at Frankfurt.
“Provincialism has no place in the 21st century.”