TOKYO -- All Nippon Airways Co. group revenue from its international cargo operations surged 17.7 percent during the April-June period from a year earlier to 19.6 billion yen ($182.6 million), the second-largest Japanese carrier announced today.

The group carried 98,000 tons of freight on its international routes during the first quarter of fiscal 2008, which started on April 1, up 25.6 percent from the previous-year period. The carrier's international freight transportation volume during the April-June period came to 459 million ton-kilometers, up 20.8 percent.

"Although overall demand for exports from Japan remained flat, ANA concentrated its efforts on cargo flows between China and the rest of Asia, and between North America and Europe, as a result of which both volumes carried and revenue showed a marked increase," ANA said in a statement.

Overall group revenue, including domestic and international passenger transport, domestic cargo and travel, totaled $3.2 billion during the April-June quarter, down 1.2 percent from a year earlier.

Operating profit gained 10.5 percent to $136 million. Net profit nosedived 92.4 percent to $61.5 million because of an extraordinary gain on the sale of ANA's hotel properties in June 2007, which boosted the net profit reported in the first quarter of the previous fiscal year far beyond normal levels, ANA said.

The company did not change its full-year consolidated projections of $14.1 billion in revenue, $745.2 million in operating profit and net profit of $251.5 million.

Hisane Masaki, The Journal of Commerce