Japan's top airline ANA reports first net profit in 10 quarters

Japan's biggest airline ANA on Monday posted a quarterly net profit for the first time in two and a half years as the sector recovers from the financial pain of the pandemic. The relaxation of COVID-19 measures in Japan and various other countries increased demand for domestic and international travel, ANA said, with a cheaper yen also providing a boost. In April to June, the company logged a net profit of 1b yen (US$7.6m), following nine consecutive quarters of losses beginning in January to March 2020, when the virus started to cause havoc worldwide. However, it was still only around a tenth of the airline's net profit in April to June 2019, when Japanese tourism was booming. Although fuel prices and other expenses were higher, "disciplined cost management" and efforts to rein in fixed costs led to a "significant improvement" in profitability, ANA said. Revenue for Q1 was up 76% on-year at 350b yen, but the airline still suffered an operating loss and maintained its annual net profit forecast of 21b yen.<br/>