FRANKFURT--Deutsche Lufthansa AG said Thursday its 2014 dividend
payment could be limited because of a change in interest rates and
the sale of its IT unit, a further blow to investors after the
airline said it wouldn't reach its 2015 earnings targets on a
weaker global economic backdrop and an expected rise in pension
costs.
Lufthansa's Chief Financial Officer Simone Menne said it would
discuss the dividend policy with the supervisory board when it
meets in early December.
The German airline said in October it would sell its IT
Infrastructure division to International Business Machines Corp.
and begin outsourcing its IT services to the technology company as
part of a broader restructuring of its systems unit. The move will
reduce costs in the long term but result in a 240 million euro
($305.2 million) charge this year, Lufthansa said.
Lufthansa downgraded its 2015 operating profit guidance, now
expecting "significantly above the result of 2014," compared with
its previous EUR2 billion ($2.52 billion) target.
The airline confirmed its 2014 operating profit target of EUR1
billion, but admitted the target remains vulnerable to further
labor union strikes this year.
Write to Natalia Drozdiak at natalia.drozdiak@wsj.com
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