LOT recorded PLN 327.1 mln loss in 2015

Poland's flagship airline PLL LOT recorded a net loss of PLN 327.1 million in 2015, of which a PLN 46.5 million loss was generated on core business, fly4free webportal.pl said. In 2014, the carrier's net profit stood at PLN 99.4 million. According to the portal, the reasons for the poor results are manifold. Firstly, the company lost on foreign exchange differences, secondly, for nine months it was unable to use 10 Bombardier Q400 airplanes it had leased from Eurolot due to an EU law banning such maneuvers by companies that receive public aid. Negative accounting impact from the sale and leaseback of six Embraers 170s also dragged down profits. Nonetheless, LOT is expected to have a PLN 20-30 million net profit in H1 and some PLN 125 million in the whole of 2016, according to Polish daily Rzeczpospolita. By the end of may, the company carried more than two million passengers, 20 percent more than in the same period last year.