(LEAD) Jeju Air Q3 net jumps 59 pct on travel demand

(ATTN: UPDATES with investment plans in last 2 paras)

SEOUL, Nov. 5 (Yonhap) -- Jeju Air Co., South Korea's biggest low-cost carrier, said Tuesday its third-quarter net profit jumped 59 percent from a year earlier on increased travel demand on short and mid-haul routes.

Net profit for the three months to September soared to 43.08 billion won (US$31 million) from 27.07 billion won during the same period of last year, the company said in a statement.

"Increased flights on routes to Japan and Southeast Asia helped buoy the quarterly bottom line," it said.

Operating profit fell 11 percent to 39.52 billion won in the third quarter from 44.39 billion won a year ago due to a weak won that drives up dollar-denominated fixed costs.

The dollar rose to an average of 1,359.38 won in the September quarter from 1,310.95 won a year ago, according to data from the Bank of Korea.

Sales were up 5.3 percent to 460.17 billion won from 436.81 billion won during the cited period.

From January to September, net income fell 32 percent to 64.82 billion won from 95.18 billion won in the year-ago period.

On the same day, the budget carrier announced it will invest 39.5 billion won to purchase a B737-800 jet to beef up its fleet.

Jeju Air currently operates 41 planes composed of 39 passenger jets and two cargo planes.

kyongae.choi@yna.co.kr
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