Lufthansa posts drop in second-quarter earnings on rising fuel costs and price wars

• The company said in a statement that adjusted earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) fell to 754 million euros ($839.73 million), compared to 1 billion euros a year earlier.
• Fuel costs were 255 million euros higher than in the previous year, it said.

Lufthansa airplanes at waiting position on the first of a two-day strike at Frankfurt Airport on November 23, 2016 in Frankfurt, Germany.

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German airline Lufthansa on Tuesday posted a decline in second-quarter earnings, hurt by price competition on short-haul routes in Germany and Austria as well as rising fuel costs.

The company said in a statement that adjusted earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) fell to 754 million euros ($839.73 million), compared to 1 billion euros a year earlier.

Fuel costs were 255 million euros higher than in the previous year, it said.

Lufthansa said it expected the European market to remain challenging until at least the end of this year.

The company maintained its guidance for 2019, having in June cut its full-year profit forecast due to lower prices and higher fuel costs compounding the effect of losses at its budget subsidiary Eurowings.