Shanghai Air returns to black in first half

SHANGHAI, Aug 19 (Reuters) - Shanghai Airlines (600591.SS), a Chinese regional carrier, said on Tuesday that it returned to the the black in the first half of this year, helped by rising air traffic and a 154 percent jump in investment returns.

From January to June, the carrier reported a net profit of 23.4 million yuan ($3.4 million) compared with a net loss of 134.5 million yuan a year earlier.

Sales rose 26 percent to 7.03 billion yuan, while unspecified investment returns surged to 10.1 million yuan from 4.0 million yuan. Operating costs rose 22.8 percent to 7.12 billion yuan.

However, monthly passenger volumes in the Chinese airline industry started to fall from a year earlier in May because of a sluggish global economy and a major earthquake in the country's southwest.

Shanghai Airlines chairman Zhou Chi told Reuters in June that it was hard to estimate the carrier's full-year results given uncertainty over the traffic outlook. ($1 = 6.87 Yuan) (Reporting by Fang Yan; Editing by Andrew Torchia)