Low losses will provide LOT with soft landing for profits

However, the carrier's managers are upbeat about the figures "We are in a seasonal business and we make money in summer months. The loss is substantially smaller than anticipated. We expected to be zł.77 million in the red," said Piotr Dubno, LOT management board member. Over the whole of 2005 the carrier plans to post a net profit of zł.246.3 million in comparison to zł.17.1 million in 2004. "The profit will be stimulated by a one-off transaction, which will be selling shares," said Dubno. This concerns the sale of a 2% stake in Pekao. Basic activities should allow posting a profit of zł.101.7 million, which marks a ROIC of 4.59%. The profits would cover the losses from previous years. "Our results depend on many factors, but one of the most important are fuel prices. They constitute 20% of all costs. We will spend zł.500 million in 2005 on this purpose," said Dubno. The company might be floated some time in the future. (Puls Biznesu, p. 6) M.M.