German airline group Lufthansa on Thursday reported a much larger net loss in the first three months of the year, but sought to play up a return to positive operating results.

The group reported a net loss of 68 million euros ($74 million) between January and March, compared with an 8-million-euro loss in the same period last year.

Adjusted operating, or underlying profit stood at 25 million euros, a marked improvement on a 53-million-euro loss in the first quarter of 2016, on the back of revenues up 11.2 percent at 7.7 billion euros.

"For a period that is traditionally difficult for the airline industry, we have posted our first positive earnings result since 2008," chief financial officer Ulrik Svensson said in a statement.

Svensson pointed to increased demand at the Lufthansa Cargo division and maintenance unit Lufthansa Technik as the biggest contributors to the improvement.

It was also the first time the group's financial reporting included Brussels Airlines, which it bought at the end of 2016.

Looking ahead, the group left untouched its forecast for the full year of "substantially higher revenues" than 2016's 31.7 billion euros and "slightly lower" adjusted operating profit than the 1.75 billion euros brought in last year.

source: AFP