China Southern Airline H1 Net Profit Rose 53-Fold

China Southern Airlines posted a net profit of 2.076 billion yuan, a gain of 5363 percent, boosted by strong demand for air travel.

China Southern Airlines Company Limited, (600029.SH/001055.HK), Asia’s largest carrier by passenger number yesterday posted a first-half net profit of 2.076 billion yuan ($304.24 million dollars), a gain of 5363 percent, as strong domestic recovery boosted demand for air travel.

Earnings per share were up 4233 percent to 0.26 yuan ended June 30, the Gunaghzou-based carrier said in its half-year results.

Total traffic volume increased by 32.5 percent to 6,078 million RTKs while passenger load factor, or the proportion of seats filled on each flights, rose 4.1 percentage points to 77.9 percent in the first six months. The number of passengers carried during the same period was 3.2 million, representing an increase of 17.1 percent year-on-year.

In the next half of the year 2010 – the “Year for Implementation for the Strategic Transformation” as it called, “the Company will enhance the hub construction in Guangzhou, Beijing and Urumqi to optimize its transit services, “and improve its aviation network and overall efficiency by sharing the experience in international and domestic markets, the carrier said in its results.

The growth of China Southern Arilines would be slower than that of China aviation industry as a whole over the Twelfth Five-Year plan period, Si Xianmin, head of the carrier once told Caijing reporters, who also described their future work as “adjustment” and to ensure “moderate development.”

China Southern Airline plans to raise 10 billion yuan from a non-public shares issue in Shanghai and Hong Kong to reduce its debt-to-asset ratio, which stood at 85.2 percent as of June 30. The placement was approved in the general shareholders meeting and is pending approval from China’s Securities Regulatory Commission.