Deutsche Lufthansa Posts Q1 Net Profit

posted a net profit for the first quarter. Deutsche Lufthansa swung to a quarterly net profit of 425 million euros ($473 million), versus a year-ago loss of EUR252 million. The company's EPS came in at 0.92 euros, compared to a loss of 0.55 euros per share. Its revenue climbed 8 percent to EUR6.97 billion from EUR6.5 billion. Traffic revenue rose 5.0 percent to 5.42 billion euros. Its adjusted loss before interest and taxes shrank to EUR167 million from EUR240 million. Operating expenses increased 11.5 percent to 8.02 billion euros. The number of passengers declined 0.8 percent to 21.56 million, while traffic rose 1.3 percent. Load factor shrank 0.5 points to 72.4 percent. For this year, Deutsche Lufthansa now projects fuel costs of EUR6.2 billion, versus its prior forecast of EUR6 billion. Deutsche Lufthansa shares gained 1.71 percent to close at $14.25 yesterday.