Air China warns economy slowdown will hurt profits

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Air China warns economy slowdown will hurt profits

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Air China blamed its woes on the slowdown in domestic and foreign travel and higher fuel prices.

18 July,2012 10:33 am

Air China, one of Chinas three major state-owned airlines, has warned its first-half profit will fall by at least 50 percent due to the countrys economic slump.Air Chinas warning Wednesday comes amid a flurry of announcements by prominent Chinese companies from manufacturers to department stores of sharp profit declines due to the economic slowdown.Chinas second-quarter growth slowed to a three-year low of 7.6 percent. That is robust compared with the United States and Europe but hurts Chinese companies that have come to depend on high growth to drive demand.Air China blamed its woes on the slowdown in domestic and foreign travel and higher fuel prices.Chinas two other major state-owned carriers, China Eastern and China Southern, issued similar profit warnings earlier.