Thai Airways Q1 Net Profit Jumps

Thai Airways reported a better-than-expected rise in first-quarter net profit on Wednesday, boosted by a big gain on foreign exchange and falling operating expenses.

The national carrier said in a statement it made net profit of THB7.87 billion baht (USD$228 million) in the January-March quarter, up 255 percent from THB2.22 billion a year earlier.

Analysts expect the airline's second-quarter earnings to be hurt by a slippage in tourism due to worries about the outbreak of the H1N1 flu virus, coupled with fallout from political violence during the holiday season in April.