Tailwinds for Japan Airlines spark profit upgrade

Japan Airlines (JAL) on Tuesday upgraded its full-year forecast as it booked a modest gain in half-year net profit thanks to solid domestic and international sales.

JAL said net profit rose 9.2 percent year-on-year to 78.0 billion yen ($690 million) for the six months to September.

Revenue for the period increased 6.2 percent to 692.3 billion yen, as the airline said it enjoyed robust inbound demand from overseas and buoyant outbound demand.

"Demand for business use remains strong, while the industry's sentiment has recovered from last year when the aviation industry faced the impact of terrorism," Hiroshi Hasegawa, an analyst at SMBC Nikko Securities in Tokyo, said before the earnings announcement.

"Domestic flights are in good shape on the back of the nation's economic recovery, while a steady inbound flow of foreign visitors to Japan continues to sustain the earnings of Japanese airline companies ahead of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics," Hasegawa told AFP.

The company, which raised its annual forecast just three months ago, again upgraded its full-year projections. It now sees 121 billion yen in net profit for the fiscal year to March 2018 -- up from 108 billion yen forecast earlier. 

The airline projected annual sales at 1.366 trillion yen compared with 1.348 trillion yen forecast before. 

JAL was once a symbol of Japan's rise from the ashes of defeat in World War II as it ferried the country's newly rich tourists around the world. But it was forced to accept a government bailout after a high-profile bankruptcy restructuring in 2010.

After slashing routes and cutting costs, the carrier relisted on the Tokyo bourse two years later and has continued a steady ascent.

"Since JAL has wound up its recovery stage from its crisis, we are focusing on its growth strategies," Hasegawa said.

Rival carrier All Nippon Airways is scheduled to announce its half-year earnings on Wednesday.