China Southern Airlines Co. Ltd., a state-controlled airline based in Hainan Province, on Tuesday announced that it is set to report its first profit in the five years since it was founded.

The airline carried 49.21 million passengers in 2006, with revenue of 46.54 billion yuan (US$5.97 billion), said Liu Shaoyong, general manager of China Southern, at the company's annual meeting.

However, Liu declined to give the figures as they were still being examined by government departments, adding the profit was beyond doubt as it had been recorded in state audits.

Last year, despite high fuel prices and fierce competition, China Southern succeeded in making its revenue grow faster than its costs, Liu said.

The company's transport of freight and passengers accounted for 31 percent and 24 percent, respectively, of the national civil aviation figures in 2006.

Liu said the company embarked on a strategic transformation last year, becoming more efficient by introducing new methods of operation and promoting automatic capital clearing. In 2006, its e-tickets sales earned revenues of 5.47 billion yuan (US$683.75 million).

He attributed the profit to cost cutting, improved budgeting, handling of non-performing assets and recovery of debts.

China Southern reported losses of 1.79 billion yuan (US$223.75 million) in 2005.

(Xinhua News Agency January 17, 2007)