(Yicai Global) Dec. 15 -- Shares of Trip.Com Group rose after the Chinese online travel agency said it turned a net profit in the third quarter as the domestic tourism sector recovered thanks to eased Covid-19 policies.

The firm’s stock price [HKG: 9961] was trading up 2.5 percent at HKD265.60 (USD34.17) as of 2.55 p.m. today, after earlier gaining as much as 6.8 percent.

Net profit was CNY266 million (USD38.2 million) in the three months ended Sept. 30, versus a net loss of CNY868 million a year earlier, the Shanghai-based owner of the Qunar and Skyscanner brands said in its latest earnings report released today. Revenue soared 29 percent to CNY6.9 billion (USD991.2 million).

Revenue from accommodation and transportation ticket bookings jumped 32 percent and 44 percent to CNY2.9 billion and CNY2.6 billion, respectively. Revenue from the tourism business fell 1.3 percent to CNY387 million, while that from the travel management business rose 9 percent to CNY370 million.

During the summer vacation, China relaxed epidemic prevention and control measures, boosting domestic tourism. Bookings of hotel rooms in the country on Trip.Com jumped 20 percent in July from the same period in 2019 and continued to grow in August, when a new wave of Covid-19 outbreaks hit China.

Bookings of international air tickets on Trip.Com more than doubled in the third quarter from a year earlier, with those for the Asia-Pacific region surging more than 400 percent. Bookings of overseas hotel rooms on Trip.Com rose 45 percent, marking the third straight quarter the figure has increased from the same period in 2019.

Editor: Futura Costaglione