=20 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- This article was sent to you by someone who found it on SF Gate. The original article can be found on SFGate.com here: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=3D/news/archive/2003/05/13/f= inancial0936EDT0037.DTL ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Tuesday, May 13, 2003 (AP) With fewer passengers, Scandinavian Airlines posts wider 1Q loss MATT MOORE, AP Business Writer (05-13) 06:36 PDT STOCKHOLM, Sweden (AP) -- SAS Group, the Scandinavian travel conglomerate, posted a wider first-quarter loss Tuesday as weak economic conditions and fears of SARS and the war in Iraq caused travel demand to decline. The group lost 1.6 billion kronor ($201.6 million), or 9.7 kronor ($1.22) per share, for the three months ending March 31. A year earlier, the company had a loss of 1.3 billion kronor, or 8.1 kronor a share. Revenue was virtually unchanged from a year ago at 13.7 billion kronor ($1.7 billion). The company operates Scandinavian Airlines Systems -- the joint carrier = of Sweden, Denmark and Norway -- hotels and airline support businesses. SAS also operates Spanair, Braathens, Wideroe and Air Botnia. The company has been struggling to cut costs and save money. Last month = it said it said it would eliminate 4,000 jobs, or nearly 13 percent of its work force, to counter dropping demand and increased competition from low-cost, no-frills carriers. The cuts include pilots, cabin crew, ground staff and workers in its ticket sales, technical services and ground operations, including catering and cleaning, in the three countries that own the company. The new round of job cuts was the third since 2002, when SAS said it wou= ld lay off 3,500 workers, followed by another 2,700. The company employs nearly 31,000 workers. Earlier this month, the company said it would reduce the number of its daily flights to Beijing and Bangkok this summer. Shares of SAS fell 4.2 percent to 36.20 kronor ($4.56) in Tuesday trading on the Stockholm Stock Exchange. On the Net: www.sas.se =20 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright 2003 AP