Beijing-based Air China Ltd, the country's flagship carrier, said on Tuesday net profit jumped nearly 15 times in 2004 from the previous year, thanks to robust passenger traffic growth. 

Air China, the country's largest passenger and cargo services provider, posted a net profit of 2.39 billion yuan (US$288.6 million) for the year ended December, compared with 160 million yuan in 2003 when the deadly Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome outbreak brought much traveling to a halt.

The result beat an average profit of 2.3 billion yuan, based on an estimate from six analysts polled by Reuters Estimates. It also came higher than the firm's forecast of 2.29 billion yuan, according to its prospectus.

It was the first time the company posted financial results since its initial public offering last December. The state-run carrier was the last of the country's three large airline group's to list.

Shares of Air China, which ended unchanged at HK$2.80 ahead of its result announcement, have lost 6 percent from their offer price of HK$2.98.

Air China, which is 9.9 percent owned by Hong Kong's major carrier Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. , recently denied a newspaper report that the firm has plans for any equity swap between the two firms. 

Air China, the first of China's three major airlines to post 2004 results, will be closely followed by China Eastern Corp. Ltd. and China Southern Airlines Co. Ltd. towards the end of the month.

China's national flag carrier also said it carried 2.1 million passengers in March, up 14 percent on year.

For the first three months of 2005, it carried a total of 5.91 million passengers, up 12 percent from 5.3 million in the same period last year.

Domestic passenger numbers rose 9 percent, while international passengers increased 23 percent, the airline said.

The carrier said it handled 163,575 metric tons (179,932 short tons) of cargo in the first quarter, up 9 percent on year.

The passenger load factor, or the percentage of seats that were filled, was 71 percent in the first quarter, up from 68 percent from a year earlier.

(CRI.com April 15, 2005)