FRANKFURT: Lufthansa Cargo (LCG) reported revenues of €1.2 billion for the first half (H1) 2014 – a drop of 4.8 percent over the same period last year.

H1 freight volumes were 3.8 percent lower and the company produced an operating result of €34 million - down from €62 million over the previous year.

The company says it won't see a "significant" increase in revenue for 2014 due to a "tough competitive environment".

Nevertheless a reduction in capacity and a focus on express products is expected to produce a 12-month operating result "slightly higher" than last year. The company has withdrawn two older MD11s and is parking two more following the introduction of its fourth B777 freighter. "Close cooperation with the Japanese airline ANA has been announced for the future," it adds.

Simone Menne, Lufthansa Group's chief officer Finance & Aviation Services, said because of continuing capacity-cutting and productivity improvements, the airline group that includes SWISS, Austrian and Germanwings is expected to produce an operating profit of €1 billion in 2014 and €2 billion in 2015.

"At the same time we have presented a comprehensive work programme with quality, growth and innovation initiatives, which we will drive forward with great determination. In doing so, we are also forging the right path for strengthening the Lufthansa Group's competitiveness and future viability," she added.

LCG says the only region that saw growth in H1 was Asia/Pacific at plus 1.2 percent while the Americas market declined 1.6 percent; Europe fell 7.8 percent and local competition in the Middle East and Africa prompted a "significant" fall of 11.2 percent in traffic volumes.

Announcing the results, Menne's executive management colleagues – including former LCG CEOs Carsten Spohr and Karl Ulrich Garnadt – declared: "These are unsettling times for your and our Lufthansa Group. We are taking on the current challenges of the market and are fighting back against all the adverse trends in order to improve our economic results. At the same time, we are keeping our eyes set on the future. With our new and comprehensive roadmap, we will turn the Lufthansa Group back into what we and you think it should be: the benchmark in our industry."