Lufthansa 3Q net income up 23 pct to euro184 million

German airline operator Deutsche Lufthansa AG said Thursday net income in the third quarter rose 23 percent because of the addition of new group airlines.

But the company reported a loss in the first nine months on lower passenger levels and prices while fuel costs rose.

Lufthansa, Europe's biggest airline by sales, said net income for the July-September period rose to euro184 million ($270 million) compared with euro149 million in the year-ago quarter. Those results were helped by the first-time inclusion of earnings from Austrian Airlines and British Midlands.

Third quarter revenue, though, fell 9.4 percent to euro5.9 billion from euro6.5 billion, as overall demand and prices fell.

Lufthansa also owns or holds stakes in airlines including Swiss International Airlines, Brussels Airlines and JetBlue of the U.S.

In addition to falling passenger levels and prices, the company said its cargo division has also felt the effects of the downturn as air freight volumes have also declined sharply.

On Wednesday, Lufthansa said it lost euro32 million in the January-September period, compared with net income of euro529 million in the first nine months of 2008.

Revenue for the first nine months fell 13 percent to euro16.2 billion from euro18.6 billion a year ago.

Shares of Lufthansa were up 2 percent to euro10.58 after it announced its quarterly figures.

Lufthansa, based in Cologne, said the results of the fourth quarter will be decisive to whether the company can meet its target of achieving a stable operating result for the full year.

"The market environment for passenger transportation is still very difficult," the airline said, adding that initial signs "of a stabilization in volumes are far away from making up for the enormous and unrelenting pressure stemming from the massive fall in price levels."

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