German travel and shipping giant TUI AG said Thursday it had slumped into a loss during the second quarter despite a solid performance by its container ship operations.

The smaller-than-forecast 55.6-million-euro (82.7-million-dollar) quarterly loss compared to a profit of 58.9 million euros in the same period last year.

Announcing the results, TUI reaffirmed its forecast of an increase in earnings. Second-quarter sales rose 20 per cent to 6.25 billion euros.

The Hanover-based group said it expects to compete the bidding stage for selling off of its Hapag-Lloyd shipping line by later in the year.