Germany's government stands to make a healthy profit after announcing it has begun to sell a quarter of its 20 percent stake in Lufthansa, with plans to cash in the entire holding by the end of 2023.

The complete stake, currently worth more $1 billion, was purchased for $353 million in 2020 as part of a recovery fund to help sectors that suffered most. 

The airline received $7 billion of bailout funds in total when the pandemic hit and now the Economic Stabilization Fund (WSF) has said: "Against the background of the currently communicated positive corporate development of Deutsche Lufthansa, the WSF will reduce its shareholding over several weeks, depending on the market conditions to a limited extent, but by a maximum of a quarter, starting today."

READ MORE:

Incels in the UK: An explainer

Spain's poverty-stricken barrio

Exploring nature's secret medicines

Earlier this month Lufthansa reported "better than expected" results for the second quarter of 2021. Despite still registering a loss of $1.1 billion, the company's underlying deficit was 43 percent better than during the same period in 2020 and its cash flow was $400 million in the positive for the first time since the pandemic grounded almost all commercial flights. 

Lufthansa said it is planning a share sale in September as it starts to recoup losses to pay back German taxpayers.