Statistics

China Southern Q1 profit surges sixfold

(Agencies)
Updated: 2010-04-24 14:13

China Southern Airlines Co, the nation's largest carrier, boosted first-quarter profit more than sixfold after carrying more passengers and selling a stake in a maintenance venture to its parent.

Net income climbed to 1.42 billion yuan ($208 million), or 0.18 yuan per share, from a year earlier, the carrier said in a Hong Kong stock exchange statement Friday, citing domestic accounting standards.

China Southern flew 17.7 million passengers in the period, 15 percent more than a year earlier, as economic growth spurred travel demand. The airline also completed the 1.6 billion yuan sale of its 50 percent stake in MTU Maintenance Zhuhai Co.

"Air travel will just keeping growing this year in China," said Kelvin Lau, an analyst at Daiwa Institute of Research in Hong Kong. "For the full year, the carrier will likely gain from yuan appreciation."

China Southern will make a foreign-exchange gain of 500 million yuan for each 1 percent the currency strengthens, Chief Financial Officer Xu Jiebo said April 13.

The airline, controlled by China Southern Air Holding Co, has risen 69 percent this year in Hong Kong trading, beating a 55 percent gain for China Eastern Airlines Co, the nation's No 2 carrier. Air China Ltd, the country's largest international carrier, has climbed 37 percent.

China Southern, based in Guangzhou, expects both sales and passenger traffic to grow by more than 10 percent in 2010, Xu said. The airline will expand its fleet to 412 planes this year from 378 in 2009.