Jan. 30, 2007 (China Knowledge) – China Southern Airlines Co. Ltd. <600029><1055><ZNH>, the Mainland’s largest carrier by fleet size, announced on Sunday that it will return to profitability for the first time in five years.

Listed in Hong Kong, Shanghai and the U.S., China Southern issued a statement to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, saying that it expects to report profits in 2006 after preliminary analysis of its operating and financial conditions. However, details like forecasted net income were not provided.

And in a brief statement to the Shanghai Stock Exchange, the Guangzhou-based carrier said that strong growth in traffic and appreciation of the RMB against the US$ have helped the company post a profit in 2006 after a RMB 1.79 billion net loss in 2005.

China Southern’s full year earnings announcement is expected around March or April.