(Yicai Global) Aug. 3 -- Shares in Juneyao Airlines surged as much as 5.1 percent today after the Chinese private carrier announced that it had turned profitable again in the first half largely due to a big jump in travelers in the second quarter.

Juneyao Airlines’ share price [SHA:603885] closed up 4 percent today at CNY12.23 (USD1.90). Earlier in the day it had reached CNY12.36.

Juneyao Airlines logged net profit of CNY102 million (USD15.8 million) in the six months ended June 30, according to its latest earnings report released yesterday. This is a big turnaround from the CNY675 million in losses it reported in the same period last year. Revenue was up 45 percent to CNY6 billion (USD928.2 million).

The Shanghai-based carrier yesterday also revealed plans to raise CNY3.5 billion (USD541.5 million) in a private placement. The funds will be used to buy more aircraft and engines as well as repay bank loans.

“The company will introduce more planes to increase the number of flights and boost market share as there remains much potential for air travel in China,” it added.

In the first half, China’s carriers transported 245 million people, an increase of 66.4 percent from a year earlier, and equivalent to 76 percent of passenger traffic over the same period in 2019, the Civil Aviation Administration of China said.

Editors: Dou Shicong, Kim Taylor