ID :
197820
Thu, 07/28/2011 - 10:07
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/197820
The shortlink copeid
Korean Air swings to profit in Q2
(ATTN: UPDATES with stock price in 4th para; ADDS aircraft purchase in paras 11-12)
SEOUL, July 28 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's biggest air carrier Korean Air Lines Co. said Thursday that it swung to a profit in the second quarter from a year ago on foreign exchange gains.
Net profit came to 33.6 billion won (US$31.9 million) in the April-June period, a sharp turnaround from a net loss of 196.7 billion won a year earlier, Korean Air said in a regulatory filing.
Sales rose 2 percent to 2.9 trillion won over the cited period, and it posted an operating loss of 19.7 billion won, compared with a 394 billion won operating profit a year earlier. The figures include earnings from Korean Air and its subsidiaries, the company said.
Shares of Korean Air closed at 68,500 won on the Seoul bourse, up 0.15 percent from the previous session.
Korean Air said that the turnaround in the second-quarter bottom line was due to the local currency's sharp gain against the U.S. dollar. The South Korean won has appreciated about 8 percent to the dollar since January.
Sales growth was underpinned by increased overseas passengers and cargo demand, but the net operating loss was attributable to higher jet oil prices, which jumped 34 percent on-year, said Korean Air.
In the first half of the year, its next profit surged to 304 billion won from 48 billion won a year earlier, with sales rising 4.5 percent on-year to 5.8 trillion won, it said.
Korean Air offered a rosy outlook for the current quarter.
"Earnings will improve further in the third quarter as the number of passengers is expected to grow steadily on the back of reconstruction in Japan and eased political unrest in the Middle East," it said.
The carrier also expected South Korea's free trade pact with Europe, which went effect on July 1, will boost trade between the two blocs and improve the company's profit margins in the cargo division.
In a separate statement, Korean Air said it decided to spend 709 billion won in purchasing 10 CS300 aircraft from Canada's Bombardier Inc.
Korean Air currently operates a fleet of 136 passenger and cargo jet aircraft.
SEOUL, July 28 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's biggest air carrier Korean Air Lines Co. said Thursday that it swung to a profit in the second quarter from a year ago on foreign exchange gains.
Net profit came to 33.6 billion won (US$31.9 million) in the April-June period, a sharp turnaround from a net loss of 196.7 billion won a year earlier, Korean Air said in a regulatory filing.
Sales rose 2 percent to 2.9 trillion won over the cited period, and it posted an operating loss of 19.7 billion won, compared with a 394 billion won operating profit a year earlier. The figures include earnings from Korean Air and its subsidiaries, the company said.
Shares of Korean Air closed at 68,500 won on the Seoul bourse, up 0.15 percent from the previous session.
Korean Air said that the turnaround in the second-quarter bottom line was due to the local currency's sharp gain against the U.S. dollar. The South Korean won has appreciated about 8 percent to the dollar since January.
Sales growth was underpinned by increased overseas passengers and cargo demand, but the net operating loss was attributable to higher jet oil prices, which jumped 34 percent on-year, said Korean Air.
In the first half of the year, its next profit surged to 304 billion won from 48 billion won a year earlier, with sales rising 4.5 percent on-year to 5.8 trillion won, it said.
Korean Air offered a rosy outlook for the current quarter.
"Earnings will improve further in the third quarter as the number of passengers is expected to grow steadily on the back of reconstruction in Japan and eased political unrest in the Middle East," it said.
The carrier also expected South Korea's free trade pact with Europe, which went effect on July 1, will boost trade between the two blocs and improve the company's profit margins in the cargo division.
In a separate statement, Korean Air said it decided to spend 709 billion won in purchasing 10 CS300 aircraft from Canada's Bombardier Inc.
Korean Air currently operates a fleet of 136 passenger and cargo jet aircraft.
