Air China posts jump in Q1 profits

Air China reported a higher quarterly net profit Thursday, which it said was helped by a strengthening yuan and improved passenger and cargo volumes. China’s flag carrier posted profit attributable to shareholders of 2.63b yuan ($415.6m) for January to March, 79.2% higher than the 1.47b yuan it reported for the same period last year. Meanwhile, rival China Eastern, the country’s second-largest by passenger numbers, said on Thursday its net profit attributable to shareholders fell 29.6% to 1.98b yuan for the quarter. But discounting one-off gains from an asset sale that it made in the first quarter of 2017, China Eastern said its profits rose 49.4%, citing a 9.1% rise in passenger traffic as one driver. The two airlines have financed their fleet expansions using many dollar-denominated loans to buy aircraft, so the strengthening of the yuan has helped cut finance costs. It has also helped them offset higher operating costs as fuel prices rise. Air China’s 2017 results had lagged analysts’ forecasts due to higher-than-expected operating costs. <br/>