All Nippon Airways Co. (ANA), Asia's largest listed carrier by sales, raised its forecast for annual profit as a global economic recovery and the expansion of Tokyo's Haneda Airport drives an increase passenger numbers.

Net income will probably be 6 billion yen (US$74 million) in the year ending March 31, compared with a previous prediction of 5 billion yen, the Tokyo-based company said in a statement on Oct. 29.

Separately, the company said it took a 6.9 billion yen charge in the second quarter to settle a price-fixing lawsuit with the U.S. Department of Justice, freight forwarders and other plaintiffs.

Profit in the quarter jumped almost five-fold as global business and leisure travel rebounded and larger rival Japan Airlines Corp. (JAL) cut flights after filing for bankruptcy in January.

ANA, as the carrier is known, is adding planes and said on Oct. 29 that it would "take full advantage" of the addition of a new runway and international terminal this month at Tokyo's Haneda airport.

"ANA benefited from a return in business demand," Ryota Himeno, an analyst at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities Co., said before earnings were announced. "Passengers and fares were better than expected."

Net income jumped to 18.5 billion yen in the three months ended on Sep. 30 from 3.8 billion yen a year earlier, the company said in a statement on Oct. 29. Sales rose 8.9 percent to 372 billion yen.

On Oct. 29, ANA gained 0.3 percent to 305 yen at the 3 p.m. close of trading in Tokyo, before the earnings were announced. The shares have gained 21 percent this year, compared with a 13 percent drop in the benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average.

Anti-Trust Settlement

The carrier will pay US$73 million to the U.S. Department of Justice and US$10.4 million to freight forwarders and other companies involved to settle lawsuits over price-fixing for passenger and cargo transport, according to a statement to the Tokyo Stock Exchange on Oct. 29.

The Department of Justice has charged 18 airlines and 14 executives in an ongoing investigation into price fixing in the air-transportation industry, according to an Oct. 28 statement.

ANA flew 12 percent more international passengers in August and 19 percent more in July, compared with a year earlier, according to data from the carrier. The airline is increasing overseas flights by 15 percent this fiscal year, adding services to Munich, Taipei, Seoul, Beijing and Shanghai.

The carrier is the first and biggest airline customer for Boeing Co.'s more fuel-efficient 787s. The carrier is set to receive the first 787 Dreamliner, more than 2.5 years behind schedule, in the middle of next quarter.

ANA has ordered 55 of the 787s in total, with a value of about US$6 billion at list prices for its initial order for 50 in 2004. Rival Japan Airlines has ordered 35 of the aircraft. The plane is 20 percent more fuel-efficient than similar aircraft, according to Boeing.

Japan Airlines had an operating profit of 109.7 billion yen in the six months through September as it slashed costs under bankruptcy protection, it said on Oct. 26.