Hainan Airline 2007 net profit nearly triples

Hainan Airlines<600221><900945> announced its 2007 net profit almost tripled to RMB 651 million from a year earlier, said the Chinese carrier in its annual report.

The net profit per share soared to RMB 0.18 in 2007 from RMB 0.06 in the previous year, while its sales revenue climbed to RMB 13.6 billion, up 6% year-on-year.

The Haikou-based carrier attributed the booming profit to the appreciation of Chinese currency and the growing airline industry in China. RMB accumulatively rose 7% last year.

In its annual report, it also said it would purchase 10 planes for approximately RMB 3.5 billion, with plans to lease a further seven aircrafts, including two B737-800 planes from Boeing, two A330 and three A340 planes from Airbus.

Its shares on the Shanghai Stock Exchange dropped nearly 14.4% in a month. On Monday it dropped 3.5% to RMB 8.73.