Hainan Airlines Co., Ltd, one of China's major airlines, said Saturday its 2009 net profit returned to the black.

Its net profit last year hit 334.67 million yuan (49.07 million U.S. dollars) compared with 1.41 billion yuan loss in 2008, the company said in a statement filed to the Shanghai Stock Exchange.

Earnings per share stood at 0.09 yuan last year, compared with 0.4 yuan loss in 2008.

The company, based in south China's Hainan Island, attributed the profit turnaround in 2009 to recovery of China's civil aviation industry and the government's supportive policies.

Hainan Airlines mulls expanding its business by taking the chances of the national project to build Hainan into a top international tourist resort and the global economic recovery.