Some LH bits from Reuters.
Lufthansa hits 2-yr low on profit warning fears
By Jeff Mason
FRANKFURT, Aug 20 (Reuters) - Lufthansa AG <LHAG.F> shares hit two-year lows on Monday as investors awaited dismal first -half results while the airline's July traffic numbers reinforced fears the carrier could issue its second profit warning this year.
By 1409 GMT Lufthansa shares were down 5.8 percent at 16.57 euros, after falling as low as 16.42 euros -- their lowest level since August 1999. The shares led decliners on the blue-chip DAX index <.GDAXI>, which fell 0.84 percent.
Lufthansa reports first-half earnings figures on Wednesday, and analysts fear the airline may reduce its current operating profit forecast for 2001 as the weak economy, rising fuel costs and expensive personnel pay deals hit results.
The German airline's first-half operating profit is seen falling 70 percent to 104 million euros ($95.24 million) from 349 million euros in the year-earlier period, according to the average forecast of six analysts polled by Reuters.
"Everybody know that these figures definitely won't be good. That's no secret," said Juergen Pieper, analyst at Bankhaus Metzler in Frankfurt. "Some still suspect that there could be another profit warning."
A spokeswoman for the airline declined to comment on the share fall or the possibility of a warning. Reeling from an expensive pilots pay deal and the effects of a global economic slowdown, Lufthansa in June warned that operating profit for the year would come in between 700 and 750 million euros -- down from its earlier forecast of one billion.
Earlier this month the airline announced it would cut its capacity growth to three percent from seven percent but stuck to its earlier profit forecasts.
In a research note, Commerzbank Securities said it expected the airline to cut forecasts again.
"Although Lufthansa cut its own forecasts earlier in the year we believe that the Q2 results will coincide with a further reduction in expectations," the bank said, adding it would maintain its "reduce" recommendation on the stock.
TRAFFIC FIGURES EXACERBATE FEARS
Analysts said the airline's latest traffic figures, released late on Friday, heightened fears there would not be an upturn in the second half of the year.
On Friday, Lufthansa said that passenger numbers in July rose 2.9 percent from the same month a year ago to 4.38 million -- the lowest increase of any month this year, excluding May when three pilot strikes grounded planes, analysts said.
The airline said the volume of cargo and mail carried in July dropped 8.3 percent to 135,000 tonnes. It has decided to ground two freighters over the next few months in response to the weakening world economy.
"Any hopes of any improvement in the second half obviously are fading or have faded with these July traffic figures," one analyst said.
"There's no sign of any recovery in those numbers. If anything, they're worse than they have been all year."
Lufthansa shares have lost 40 percent since hitting this year's high of 27.50 euros on January 2.
-Lufthansa Cargo July Americas traffic falls 16.6 pct
FRANKFURT, Aug 20 (Reuters) - Lufthansa Cargo AG saw its
slump in business in the Americas gather pace last month with a
16.6 percent year-on-year decline in two-way cargo volumes,
parent company Deutsche Lufthansa AG said.
This compared to an already heavy 11.1 percent fall in June
as the slowing U.S. economy impacted on demand for cargo
capacity.
The 4.6 percent decline in volumes carried last month to and
from Asia, however, represented a slower fall than in June when
its Asia tonnage dropped 10.7 percent, the latest Lufthansa
monthly traffic report showed.
Lufthansa Cargo July load factor down 9.2 pp to 59 pct
FRANKFURT, Aug 20 (Reuters) - Lufthansa Cargo saw its load
factor slump 9.2 percentage points to 59.0 percent last month
and ended the first seven months down 6.0 percentage points at
61.6 percent, parent company Deutsche Lufthansa AG said.