Lufthansa eyes stable pricing after record 2017 profit

German airline group Lufthansa said it expected pricing this year to be stable and predicted slightly lower profit, after it reported record annual earnings for the third year in a row.

Lufthansa is currently benefiting from low fuel prices, strong demand and last year's collapse of local rival Air Berlin, helping to drive passengers to services offered by its namesake carrier and other units such as Eurowings, Austrian and Swiss.

The group reported 2017 adjusted earnings before interest and tax up 70 percent to €2.97 billion, better than average analyst expectations of€ 2.84 billion, according to a Reuters poll.

Unit revenues - a measure of pricing - rose 1.9 per cent in 2017, and were up 2.3 per cent in the fourth quarter.