Air France-KLM today reported a fiscal third-quarter operating loss of €194 million, reflecting what it called deepening economic crisis, and pledged to assess all its costs to achieve additional savings.
Europe's largest airline said revenue fell 0.1 per cent to €5.9 billion and posted a net loss of €505 million compared with a €139 million net profit in the previous year's third quarter, which runs from October to December.
Analysts had on average forecast third-quarter 2008/09 revenues of €5.8 billion and an operating loss of €206 million, according to Reuters Estimates.
In the third quarter of 2007/08, Air France-KLM had posted an operating profit of €311 million. Net debt rose to €3.38 billion at December 31st from €2.69 billion on March 31st 2008, it said in a statement.
Air France-KLM said last month it was likely to post an operating loss of some €200 million for its third quarter as the economy worsened.
It reiterated on Friday that it still expected to achieve a positive operating income for the full year ending March 31st, but that the level would depend on how the economy developed until then, especially in cargo which is facing a tough environment.
"In the meantime, we will continue to assess all our costs in order to achieve additional savings wherever possible." French media reported today that the Franco-Dutch airline planned to shed at least 1,000 jobs.
Air France-KLM withdrew detailed full-year forecasts in November after warning in October it would not be able to reach its 2008-09 operating profit target of €1 billion.
Reuters