Hainan Airlines expects to return to net profit for 2021

BEIJING (Reuters) – Hainan Airlines expects to return to net profit for last year following restructuring and a pickup in domestic travel, the carrier said on Thursday.

The airline expects to report a 2021 net profit of between 4.5 billion yuan and 6.2 billion yuan ($708 million to $975 million) after suffering a loss of 64 billion yuan a year earlier, it said in a stock filing.

In early December, the indebted HNA Group transferred management of its core aviation business, including Hainan Airlines, to strategic investor Liangning Fangda Group Industrial, wrapping up a years-long debt crisis at one of China’s highest flying conglomerates.

($1 = 6.3604 Chinese yuan renminbi)

(Reporting by Stella Qiu and Brenda Goh; editing by Jason Neely)