Shares of Air China Ltd. closed higher Wednesday morning after the company reported more than doubled first-half-year profit from a year earlier late Tuesday.

Air China ended 6.25 percent higher to 7.65 yuan in the Wednesday morning session on the Shanghai Stock Exchange.

The Beijing-based airline said in a Hong Kong stock exchange statement late Tuesday that its profit in the first half of 2009 was 2.93 billion yuan (US$428 million), up 151 percent from a year earlier.

The carrier attributed the fast growth to fuel hedging gains which helped offset weaker demand on international routes and lower fuel costs which fell 42.5 percent from a year earlier.

(Xinhua News Agency August 26, 2009)