Exclusive-Net loss mounts at German rail group Deutsche Bahn in H1 on soaring costs, documents show

By Markus Wacket

BERLIN (Reuters) -German rail operator Deutsche Bahn has chalked up a net loss of 1.2 billion euros ($1.3 billion) during the first half of this year, as expenses to upgrade its aging infrastructure ballooned, documents seen by Reuters showed.

The after-tax deficit, also inflated by higher borrowing costs, follows a net loss of only 71 million euros in the year-earlier period, the company documents showed.

State-owned Deutsche Bahn expects to receive German government reimbursements for some of its rail infrastructure investments later this year, according to the documents.

The company, which reports its results on Thursday, declined to comment.

In addition to its infrastructure problems, Deutsche Bahn is also struggling with losses in its long-distance and freight businesses. The ICE and IC passenger transport units posted an operating loss of 230 million euros in the January-June period, and the freight rail services posted an operating loss of 260 million euros, the documents showed.

The logistics unit Schenker, Deutsche Bahn's only cash cow, which is up for sale, recorded an operating profit of 520 million euros, a 16.9% fall from last year's 626 million euros.

Deutsche Bahn wants to sell Schenker to reduce its debt of more than 34 billion euros. It had to moderate its expectations on proceeds from the sale a few days ago, when the highest bidder, Saudi Arabia's Bahri, dropped out of the race, according to sources.

First-half revenue fell 11% to 22.3 billion euros, the documents showed.

Company sources told Reuters in April that the rail operator has been drawing up a list of cost-cutting measures to mitigate billions of euros in losses and ballooning debt.

($1 = 0.9218 euros)

(Reporting by Markus Wacket, writing by Ludwig Burger, editing by Matt Scuffham, Kirsti Knolle and Bernadette Baum)