CSA Czech Airlines, earmarked for privatization, booked a loss of CZK444 million koruny (USD$27.8 million) in the January to April period, as high fuel prices offset cost cuts in what is usually a weak part of the year.
The company said on Thursday it had expected a slightly deeper loss of CZK453 million in the first four months. It posted a loss of CZK335 million in the same period a year ago.
The state wants to sell the national carrier at the turn of the year, which analysts have said could fetch around CZK4 billion.
Revenue rose by nearly 2 percent year-on-year to CZK6.7 billion, above the planned CZK6.5 billion, and the airline repeated a forecast of a CZK391 million net profit for the year, helped by the CZK300 million sale of its catering unit in early April.
It earned CZK207 million in 2007, which was the first year in the black after three years of losses. It sees earnings of CZK110 million to CZK340 million in 2009.
The carrier had expanded rapidly earlier in the decade but had to sell some non-core assets in a restructuring following losses. It is still burdened by high leasing costs from that period.
CSA wants to use its option to buy eight new Airbus A320 aircraft by 2012 to modernize its fleet of 51 planes.
The cabinet plans to sell a 91.5 percent stake in CSA in a tender, with the finance ministry expecting interest from peers such as Lufthansa, British Airways, Aeroflot and airlines from China and South Korea.
But some government officials have said the cabinet may offer the stake to a Czech-based company or a consortium with a Czech majority to secure its national carrier status.
