Lufthansa saw its losses worsen in the first quarter: the red came in at 68 million euros, against the -8 million recorded in the same period last year. The German company, however, returned to positive with regard to the operational level. The adjusted net profit is positive and equal to 25 million.
Standard & Poor's raised Lufthansa's outlook to stable from negative, confirming its rating at BBB-. The agency justified the decision with the better-than-expected operating profit recorded by the German company.
S&P says Lufthansa benefited in 2016 from various factors such as cost reductions and capacity adjustments. The group's robust operating profit, S&P estimates, will stabilize both this year and in 2018.
Lufthansa has been talked about in the last few hours as possible buyer of Alitalia: "I hope so – commented the Minister of Economic Development, Carlo Calenda – it is an eventuality that would be interesting to explore".
