AIR China posted a 77 per cent loss in net profit for the first half of 2012, year-on-year, according to Agence France-Presse.
Dampened demand for air travel and higher fuel costs – up 12.8 per cent year-on-year – saw the carrier’s net profit fall from RMB 4.1 billion (US$724 million) in the first half of 2011 to RMB 944.5 million during the same period this year.
Although the number of passengers carried peaked at 34 million during the first half – an increase of three per cent – Air China expects the downward trend in earnings to continue for the second half of the year, due to continued fluctuations in fuel costs and currency exchange rates.
The depreciation of the yuan against the US dollar saw the airline record an RMB 341 million foreign exchange loss in the first half of this year, compared to a gain of RMB 1.48 billion for the same period in 2011.
