LONDON -- Cargolux, the Luxembourg-based all-cargo airline, on Monday said it made a $155 million provision to cover potential fines resulting from its alleged role in a global price-fixing scheme.

The provision plunged Europe's biggest dedicated cargo airline into a net loss last year of $47.1 million, its first since 1993, from a profit of $82.6 million in 2006.

The privately owned airline said revenue rose 11.8 percent to $1.7 billion and traffic was up 7.9 percent at 703,000 metric tons, despite increased competition from Asian start-up carriers and shipping lines.

Cargolux said if it loses all its price-fixing cases, there could be "a material adverse impact on the financial condition of the group."

The carrier said the provision "is not deemed to be an admission of guilt on the company's part but is a precautionary measure, consistent with the prudence with which the company generally prepares its accounts."

Antitrust agencies in several countries, including the U.S. and the European Union, are investigating the alleged price-fixing scheme. Cargolux, along with several other carriers, also is facing civil lawsuits in the U.S. and Canada.

The U.S. Justice Department last week fined Japan Air Lines $110 million for its role in the six-year price-fixing scheme. It previously fined Korean Air and British Airways $300 million each for their participation.

Bruce Barnard/The JOURNAL of COMMERCE ONLINE