JOC Staff | Nov 02, 2012 7:59AM EDT
Japan Airlines Corp. (JAL) said on Friday that its net profit rose 2.4 percent in the first half of fiscal 2012, which started on April 1, from a year earlier to $1.25 billion on a consolidated basis.
It was the biggest group net profit on record for the first half of any fiscal year. The airline attributed the strong showing to increased passenger traffic and strenuous cost-cutting efforts.
JAL’s group revenue from overall operations totaled $7.93 billion in the April-September period, up 5.7 percent from the same six-month period last year. Its group operating profit increased 5.7 percent in the April-September period from a year earlier to $1.40 billion.
The carrier’s revenue from both international and domestic cargo operations in the April-September period amounted to $473.75 million, down 3.3 percent. International cargo revenue was down 6.7 percent at $315.88 million, while domestic cargo revenue was up 4.2 percent at $158.38 million.
On Friday, JAL also revised slightly downward its group operating revenue forecast for the whole of fiscal 2012, but it upgraded its full-year group operating and net profit forecasts, citing further cost-cutting efforts. The carrier’s previous forecasts were announced on May 14.
JAL’s new full-year projections are as follows: $15.19 billion in operating revenue, up 0.8 percent from fiscal 2011; $2.06 billion in operating profit, down 19.5 percent from fiscal 2011; $1.75 billion in net profit, down 25.0 percent from fiscal 2011.
JAL filed for bankruptcy protection in January 2010 under the Corporate Rehabilitation Law, which is similar to Chapter 11 in the U.S., marking one of the biggest corporate failures in Japanese history. JAL shares were delisted from the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE) the following month.
But the carrier flew out of bankruptcy protection in March 2011, only about 14 months after going into it, and relisted on the TSE on Sept. 19 this year.
JAL carried out drastic restructuring measures, including cutting more than one-third of its workforce and terminating many loss-making domestic and international routes. These turnaround efforts paid off. JAL has been touted as the world’s most profitable airline in recent months.
“In order to positively achieve our full-year earnings forecasts, we will strive to maximize our earnings and minimize our costs,” JAL President Yoshiharu Ueki said at a press conference on Friday.