Lufthansa loses nearly 1 billion on fuel hedging

Germany carriers Lufthansa slumped to €1.2 billion Q1 loss, with the vast majority of the deficit coming from a €950 million fuel hedging payout. The combination of the global collapse in passenger numbers and the dramatic fall in the price of oil in April left the German carrier seriously out of the money on its fuel hedging programme. Sixty million euros of the loss related to hedges that expired in the first quarter and had a corresponding cash relevant negative impact on earnings. The remainder reflects the valuation of hedges expiring in the future as of March 31. Lufthansa’s results