Germany's Scholz: Lufthansa rescue package should yield "small profit" for state

Germany's rescue package for flagship carrier Lufthansa is a "very, very good solution" that is taking into account the needs of both the company and taxpayers, Finance Minister Olaf Scholz said on Monday.

"The support that we're preparing here is for a limited period of time," Scholz said after government and Lufthansa reached a preliminary deal on a 9 billion euro ($9.8 billion)bailout.

"When the company is fit again, the state will sell its stake and hopefully ... with a small profit that puts us into a position to finance the many, many requirements which we have to meet now, not only at this company," Scholz added. ($1 = 0.9178 euros)