All Nippon Boosts Profit on Flights to China, India

All Nippon Airways Co., Japan's largest domestic carrier, boosted third-quarter profit as it flew more passengers overseas.
All Nippon's net income rose 34 percent to 12.4 billion yen ($117 million) in the three months ended Dec. 31, compared with a profit of 9.3 billion yen a year earlier. Sales at the Tokyo- based carrier fell 0.9 percent to 378 billion yen.
The carrier carried 5.8 percent more international passengers in the period as it added flights to China and India. The airline is targeting growth overseas as discount carrier Skymark Airlines Inc. takes away domestic customers.
``Stronger passenger volume from international routes is the high point of All Nippon's earnings,'' said Takuya Osaka, an analyst at Morgan Stanley Japan Securities Co. in Tokyo.
The airline's shares rose 3.9 percent to close at 423 yen on the Tokyo Stock Exchange before earnings were announced.
All Nippon is also cutting low-margin routes within Japan to boost profits. It cut seven routes last year and will slash the same number from April 1 to July 1. Fewer flights and more competition led to a 2.3 percent drop in domestic passengers in the third quarter.
31/01/08 Chris Cooper/Bloomberg

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Categories: Foreign Jan 2008