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Lufthansa narrows loss on cost cuts

Narrowing losses and recording cash inflow for the first time since the start of the global health crisis - Germany's Lufthansa said on Thursday (August 5) recovering air travel combined with cost savings had helped in the second quarter.

The group, which also owns Eurowings, Swiss, Brussels and Austrian Airlines, said its adjusted operating loss narrowed to $1.13 billion, slightly below forecasts.

Lufthansa said the easing of travel curbs and pent-up demand drove significant recovery.

And that job cuts had helped stem the cash bleed and deliver a cash inflow of about $402 million.

The company's CEO said in a statement that "the fact that more than 30,000 colleagues have left us in the process so far hurts us all."

Adding that it was "unavoidable to sustainably save the more than 100,000 remaining jobs".

Lufthansa shares were up around 0.5% in mid-morning trade.

Rivals, including Air France-KLM and British Airways owner IAG, have also recently reported a return to positive cash flow.

But Lufthansa was more cautious about its outlook.

While it predicted high tourist demand and a gradual recovery in business travel in the second half, the group kept its full-year capacity target at 40% of pre-crisis levels.