LONDON: Deutsche Lufthansa AG raised its 2016 profit forecast after premium class bookings beat the airline’s expectations and as fuel costs decline. The stock rose the most in eight years.
Adjusted earnings before interest and taxes this year will about match the 2015 figure, bolstered by a projected decrease of 140 million euros (US$154mil) in fourth quarter fuel expenses, the German airline said in a statement late Wednesday. That contrasts with Lufthansa’s pessimism in July, when terrorist attacks and political turmoil in Europe prompted the carrier to forecast that profit would fall rather than rise this year.