Korean Air posts 17.7 percent fall in 3rd-quarter earnings

Korean Air, the larger of Korea's two flag carriers, said Nov.14 that its net profit dropped 17.7 percent in the third quarter of the year from a year ago, hit by a hike in fuel costs.

Net profit came to 126.8 billion won (US$135.2 million) in the three months up to Sept. 30, compared with 154.1 billion won the previous year, the company said in a regulatory filing.

Sales gained 3.4 percent to 2.2 trillion won, but operating profit declined 27.7 percent to 193.8 billion won year-on-year, the company said.

Shares of Korean Air were up 2.22 percent to 34,500 won as of 11:26 a.m. on the Seoul bourse.

The company attributed the drop in the quarterly earnings mainly to a 16.1 percent jump in fuel costs and the slowing growth of its cargo operations. Korean Air was the world's largest cargo carrier last year.

Ticket sales for the carrier's domestic flights fell 10.6 percent but those for its international ones increased 5.9 percent from a year ago, the company said.