Japan Airlines Posts $1.25 Billion Net Profit

Struggling Japan Airlines said Tuesday that it posted a net profit of $1.25 billion on a consolidated basis in the first half of fiscal 2011, which started on April 1, thanks to rigorous cost-cutting efforts.

JAL’s group revenue from its overall operations totaled $7.69 billion in the April-September period, including $346.15 million from international cargo operations and $155.13 million from domestic cargo operations.

The airline posted a group operating profit of $1.36 billion and a group ordinary – or pre-tax – profit of $1.32 billion in the April-September period.

JAL gave no comparable figures for the same six-month period last year, when the airline was still under bankruptcy protection. JAL flew out of bankruptcy protection in late March, about 14 months after going into it.

JAL had 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.

“The company has strengthened its resilience against risks in the operating environment through measures implemented in the course of its restructuring last year,” JAL said in an earnings release.

JAL specifically cited the withdrawal from unprofitable routes, continuous review of the group’s fleet on each route, thorough reductions in fuel expenses and other fixed costs, and the introduction of a new sectoral revenue management system.

On international cargo operations, JAL said, “Alongside efforts to stimulate demand for air cargo transportation between international gateways and local regions after the internationalization of Haneda airport [in Tokyo], JAL has also been carrying increased amounts of automotive parts and other cargo goods related to the Great East Japan Earthquake.”

“Cargo capacity on JAL in terms of revenue cargo ton-kilometer (RCTK) is 52.2 percent down versus last year,” JAL said.

JAL said that although the financial results in the first half of fiscal 2011 have generally been “stable,” the business outlook for the second half is “unclear,” citing the volatile economic situation in Europe related to the debt issues in Greece, as well as the possible lingering effects of flooding in Thailand.

JAL also announced on Tuesday its group revenue and profit forecasts for the whole of fiscal 2011 for the first time. The full-year projections are: $14.74 billion in operating revenue; $1.79 billion in operating profit; $1.67 billion in ordinary profit; $1.54 billion in net profit.