(Yicai Global) Aug. 18 -- China’s Juneyao Airlines fell into the red in the first half of the year after the regional carrier’s operations were broadsided by the coronavirus pandemic.

Juneyao had a CNY675 million (USD97.5 million) net loss in the six months ended June 30, the Shanghai-based company said in an earnings report today. That compared with a net profit of CNY575 million a year earlier. Operating income plunged 48 percent to CNY4.2 billion (USD676.7 million).

Swathes of domestic and international flights have been cancelled since the beginning of the year due to the pandemic, with total sector losses in China running at CNY74.1 billion USD10.7 billion), Juneyao said.

The company’s shares [SHA: 603885] closed almost 2.2 percent lower today at CNY10.4 (USD1.50) each. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.4 percent.

Juneyao’s operating costs fell 32 percent to CNY4.7 billion, while financing costs surged 138 percent to CNY339 million because of higher interest charges. Interest-bearing debt was CNY16.8 billion (USD2.4 billion) as of June 30, compared CNY11.7 billion at the end of last year. The company did not reveal the cause of the increase.

China’s aviation turnover totaled 31.91 billion ton-kilometers in the first half, a year-on-year decline of 49.2 percent. The country’s airlines carried 150 million passengers over the same period, down 54.2 percent annually.

Juneyao did not provide any future earnings guidance.

Editor: Peter Thomas