Japanese airlines sink on higher fuel costs

Tokyo: Major Japanese carriers All Nippon Airways (ANA) and Japan Airlines (JAL) on Tuesday reported sluggish April-June profits as fuel costs weighed despite higher revenues. ANA Holdings said net profit tumbled by 68.5 per cent to 16.1 billion yen because the previous year’s figures included one-off gains from including a low-cost carrier as a consolidated subsidiary. Rival JAL meanwhile said its quarterly operating profit rose a marginal 0.7 per cent to 24.9 billion yen (Dh820 million) with net profit dropping 10.3 per cent to 17.5 billion yen. ANA’s operating profit fell 21.1 per cent from a year earlier to 20.1 billion yen ($180 million), while revenue grew 7.3 per cent to 484.9 billion yen.