(Bloomberg). Turkish Airlines’ third quarter profit beat all expectations. The cargo operations, as well as reductions in personnel costs, boosted the earnings. These shares rose the highest in 8 months.

Net income at Turkey’s flagship carrier was 6.3 billion liras ($563 million), according to a statement on Thursday, 35% higher than the top of a range of analyst estimates. This is compared to a loss in revenue of 946 millions liras for 2020 when global travel was halted by the Covid-19 pandemic.

These results show that both the aviation and coronavirus crises are causing rapid recovery. Deutsche Lufthansa AG Air France KLM reported healthy numbers and an optimistic outlook recently. A surge in demand has been caused by the lifting of most border restrictions from countries outside of Asia. The opening of transatlantic key routes is also expected to boost sales. 

Turkish Airlines is one carrier that took advantage of a growing freight industry even as passenger travel was slow. To unlock more value and have better management, the company plans to separate its cargo business.

The company stated that the earnings were buoyed by the reduction in personnel expenses and depreciation the Turkish lira, which was below the levels of 2019.

Turkish Airlines (IS) was up 8.1% in the intraday, marking the largest gain since March 2nd, at 16.84 Liras. This is the highest level for almost three years.

The carrier’s results showed a “positive surprise in its unit costs, driven mainly by lower personnel expenses, which looks more sustainable than our initial expectations,” Gorkem Goker, an analyst at Istanbul-based brokerage Yapi Kredi Yatirim, said in an emailed note. His recommendation was to hold the stock.

“We also welcome the strength in the company’s cargo business, whose outlook is the foremost exciting part of Turkish Airlines’ near-term story,” he said. That performance “eases our concerns for the weakness in passenger front.” 

This airline has 333 destinations in 128 different countries. It is part of one the biggest networks worldwide.

(Updates with the share price, sixth paragraph.

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