BEIJING — Air China Ltd., one of China's three major state-owned airlines, said Thursday its first-half profit rose 60 percent over a year earlier as passenger travel and cargo recovered from the global crisis.
Profit for the six months ending June 30 was 4.6 billion yuan ($675 million), or 0.39 yuan (5.7 U.S. cents per share), up from 2.9 billion yuan a year ago, the Beijing-based carrier said. Revenue rose 53 percent to 34.3 billion yuan ($5 billion).
Revenue from passenger operations rose 49 percent to 28.6 billion yuan ($4.2 billion) and from cargo operations by 127 percent to 4.5 billion yuan ($658 million).
"Operating results hit historical high and increased significantly as compared with the same period last year," the airline said in a statement.
It said operations were boosted by the gradual global recovery, China's rapid growth and tourist travel to the Shanghai World Expo.