China Southern on Tuesday posted a 11.6% fall in H1 profit, as foreign exchange gains failed to offset the impact of higher fuel prices and lower returns on international flights. China’s largest airline by passenger numbers posted net profit attributable to shareholders of 2.77b yuan ($420.08m) over the six months to June, on an 11.5% increase in revenue to 60.3b yuan. Passenger yields fell 2%, dragged down by a 7.5% slump on international routes, even as revenue per kilometre grew 12.5%. Cargo yields rose 13.9% on the back of a resurgence in cargo traffic globally. The company said it expected the number of passengers travelling outbound from China to exceed 140m in H2 2017, an increase of 14.8%. The Guangzhou-based carrier is experiencing pressure on international yields as it has expanded capacity rapidly in recent years while it has also cut lucrative routes to South Korea due to travel curbs enforced by Beijing. The cost of jet fuel rose 28% over H1, according to analysts from brokerage UOB Kay Hian.<br/>