Asiana Airlines net profit jumps up 181% in Q3

Asiana Airlines, Korea’s second-largest airline by sales, said on Tuesday that its third-quarter net profit skyrocketed 181 percent on improved financial status. Net profit in the July-September period came to 47.8 billion won ($42.5 million), up from 17 billion ($15 million) won a year earlier on a consolidated basis, the company said in a statement.

Operating profit fell 15 percent to 101 billion won ($89.7 million), while sales increased 14 percent to 1.85 trillion won ($1.64 billion) over the cited period.

The company attributed the rise in net profit to an improvement in its financial structure.

Asiana said its debt reduced from 4.06 trillion won ($3.6 billion) by the end of last year to 3.14 trillion won ($2.68 billion) by the end of September.

Profit from the summer peak season and sales of its group office building in downtown Seoul were reflected in the latest earnings, according to the company.

Meanwhile, Asiana cited rising oil prices as the cause of the drop in operating profit.

Shares of the flag carrier closed at 3,920 won ($3.48) on the Seoul bourse, up 1.16 percent from the previous session’s close.