Thai Airways International first-quarter net profit plunged 94 percent from a year earlier, due mainly to a foreign-exchange loss, reported Dow Jones Newswires.

    For the three months ended March 31, the national carrier reported a net profit of US$20.4 million, down from $349.67 million a year earlier.

    Thai Airways booked a $111.15 million foreign-exchange loss compared with a $118.56 million foreign exchange gain recorded in the first quarter of last year. The carrier recorded a foreign-exchange loss in the quarter because the baht weakened against the euro, which is the main denomination of the firm's foreign debt.

    The national carrier's expenses, which rose 7.5 percent year-on-year to $1.58 billion, was also a cause of the sharp decline in its first-quarter net profit, it said.

    "The major factor causing a dramatic increase in cost is the rapid rise in average jet fuel price, which was 33.5 percent higher than the first quarter last year," the company said.

    It said Japan's recent massive quake also took a toll on the company's earnings.

(Source:http://www.cargonewsasia.com)