[photopress:air_China_Southern_1_2.jpg,full,alignright]China Southern Airlines said that 2007 had been a record year as it reported a near 10-fold jump in profits.
The past two years represented a strong turnaround for the airline, which ended a four-year string of losses in 2006.
General manager of CSA, Liu Shaoyong, said the nation’s biggest carrier by fleet size saw profits rise to a record RMB3 billion (US$411 million) from RMB306 million in 2006. The airline made progress in expanding its hub operations and marketing networks.
Liu Shaoyong said, ‘It is the best financial result China Southern has ever had.’
Revenue from transportation business rose 13.6% year-on-year to a record 50 billion yuan in 2007.
The Guangzhou-based company carried 56.74 million passengers in2007, up 15.3% from a year earlier. The figure represented a 30.2% share in China’s civil aviation industry.
Cargo transport volume rose 5.4 percent to 863,000 tonnes, for a 21.8% share in the industry.
Liu also ascribed the strong performance to shareholder reforms that allowed non-tradable, state-owned shares to float on the market, which boosted investors’ optimism.
The carrier ordered 10 Airbus A330-200s last October and 55 Boeing 737s in August, as part of its efforts to meet market demand and refurbish its fleet.
In the fourth quarter of 2009, it is scheduled to take delivery of five A380s, Airbus’ jumbo double-decker plane, which can seat up to 850 passengers.
Source: People’s Daily Online
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