China Southern Airlines Company Limited (China Southern) swung to a net profit of 358 million yuan (52.49 million U.S. dollars) in 2009 after posting a 4.8 billion yuan of loss in 2008.

Earnings per share rose to 0.05 yuan, compared with a 0.74 yuan loss in 2008, according to its annual report filed with the Shanghai Stock Exchange Tuesday.

China Southern, the nation's largest carrier by transport capacity, attributed its turnaround in the past year to strong growth in air traffic volume which was driven by the economic rebound.

Shares of China Southern opened lower at 9.12 yuan per share Tuesday, down 0.01 percentage points from the previous close, despite the profit report.