PAL books first profit

PAL books first profit

MANILA (AFP): Debt-saddled Philippine Airlines (PAL) on Monday reported a net profit of 44.2 million pesos (US$1.052 million) for the fiscal year ended March, its first profit in seven years.

The figure was a "dramatic single-year" turnaround for Asia's oldest airline, which in the fiscal year 1998-1999 chalked up 10.181 billion pesos (US$242.4 million) in losses, PAL said in a statement.

PAL has suffered a combined net loss of 25.614 billion pesos ($609 million) in the last six years, it said.

PAL chairman and chief executive officer Lucio Tan said that while the 1999 figure "is really nothing to crow about" it could still be considered an "achievement" considering the company was nearly bankrupt 12 months earlier.

The airline was forced to shut down temporarily in September 1998, saddled with debts totaling $2.24 billion and labor problems.