Germany's flagship airline is about to raise its internal target for earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) as part of a turnover to €3 billion per year from €2 billion, Manager Magazin reported on Friday, quoting information obtained from anonymous sources in "business circles." Deutsche Lufthansa AG apparently aims to become more appealing for investors. The profit measure dropped 60.4% on an annual scale to €417 million in the first half of the year and brought a net loss of €116 million against net income of €713 million in the same period of 2018.

The article adds that the management would pass a cost-cutting program next month with a possible hiring freeze in the group headquarters and a spending freeze. Of note, SunExpress, Lufthansa's joint venture with Turkish Airlines, signed a credit card payment contract with Wirecard AG, which revealed the deal today. A rumor appeared in the media yesterday that the carrier is considering the possibility of a code-sharing arrangement with Thomas Cook Group Plc's charter unit Condor.

Shares surged 3.32% to €13.67 at 11:21 am CET after reaching a nine-day high at €13.72. Wirecard jumped 2.93% to €147.7 per share. The payments system operator earlier hit 147.8 for the first time in two weeks.