The crisis-hit flag carrier, which sought bankruptcy protection in July as it tries to slash costs and debt, said its fiscal fourth-quarter pretax loss grew to 1.70 billion Swedish crowns ($160.85 million) from 945 million.

SAS said in a statement it aimed to complete its bankruptcy protection process during the second half of 2023. It has said earlier it aimed to conclude it within 12 months from July 2022.

"The implementation ... is likely to entail additional legal proceedings in other jurisdictions than the U.S. As a result, there is no assurance that there will be any recovery for the shareholders of SAS AB," it said on Wednesday.

(Reporting by Anna Ringstrom, editing by Terje Solsvik)