Strikes, storms hit German rail operator's profit

A string of drivers' strikes and bad weather heavily dented first-half profits at Germany's main rail operator, Deutsche Bahn, figures showed Tuesday.

The company, which has faced nine waves of strike actions since late 2014, said it planned to trim costs after a 39 percent drop in net profit compared with the same period in 2014.

Between January and June this year, net profit fell to 391 million euros ($430 million), while turnover nudged up slightly year-on-year because of a weak euro, the operator said.

Deutsche Bahn chief Ruediger Grube said the company had faced its biggest and most hard-hitting wage dispute in its history.

The stoppages cost the group 250 million euros in the first half of this year, on top of the impact of high winds that hit rail traffic in Germany, he said.

The company lowered its annual forecasts, and on Monday announced a raft of measures aimed at greater efficiency and lower costs.