Jin Air's operating profit up 6 pct in H1

SEOUL, July 29 (Yonhap) -- Jin Air Co., a South Korean low-cost carrier, said Friday that its operating profit rose 6 percent on-year in the first half thanks to a rise in passengers.
Operating profit came to 2.2 billion won (US$2.1 million) in the January-June period, compared with 2.1 billion won last year, Jin Air said in a statement.
Sales rose 40 percent on-year to 72.9 billion won during the six-month period, up from 49.4 billion won a year earlier.
The company, however, did not disclose its net income.
Jin Air, a wholly owned unit of the country's top flag carrier Korean Air Lines Co., said a steady rise in the number of domestic and international passengers contributed to the solid gains in operating profits, despite a hike in jet fuel prices.
The company said that since its launch in 2008, nearly 3.8 million people have used Jin Air. It added that of the total, 440,000 passengers flew on one of the airline's six international routes.
Jin Air said it expects annual sales to reach 157.1 billion won and operating profit to go up to 6 billion won in 2011.