Thai Airways profit hit by strong baht

Bangkok: Thai Airways International said on Wednesday that despite increased traffic, first quarter net profit fell 31 percent from a year earlier as a rising baht undercut offshore earnings.
Thailand's flag carrier said net profit dropped to 4.2 billion baht (121 million dollars) in the three months to March, while pre-tax profit tumbled 31 percent to 6.0 billion baht.
Revenue, meanwhile, rose 7.6 percent year-on-year to 43.4 billion baht, while passenger traffic grew 13.1 percent.
"The lower profit was mainly caused by a stronger baht compared to the same period of last year and came despite the fact that oil prices eased," said a senior company official.
The baht was at about 39 to the dollar in March last year, against 35 this year.
Higher revenue largely reflected increased flight frequencies to serve growing demand for air travel on both regional and intercontinental routes.
The airline launched new flights to Johannesburg in South Africa as well as Hyderabad, Bodhgaya and Varanasi in India, Thai Airways said in a statement to the stock exchange.
09/05/07 Channel News Asia, Singapore

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Categories: Foreign May 2007