Japan Airlines said Tuesday its first half net profit reached US$1.25 billion, thanks to aggressive restructuring efforts after completing its bankruptcy proceedings.

JAL posted a net profit of 97.4 billion yen (US$1.25 billion) for the six months to September, with operating profit of 106.1 billion yen on sales totalling 599.8 billion yen.

The former flagship carrier does not have comparable data from the previous year, when it was going through a court-led rehabilitation programme.

"The company has strengthened its resilience against risks in the operating environment through measures implemented in the course of its restructuring last year," JAL said in a statement.

JAL completed bankruptcy proceedings in March this year after filing for a failure in January 2010 with debts of about 2.32 trillion yen - one of Japan's biggest-ever corporate failures.

Under government supervision JAL carried out massive restructuring, guided by charismatic businessman Kazuo Inamori, in order to continue flying.

The company cut unprofitable routes, reviewed its fleet, and reduced fuel expenses. It also started using a new revenue management system to improve productivity.

For the financial year to March 2012, JAL expects net profit of 120 billion yen and operating profit of 140 billion yen on sales of 1.15 trillion yen.

JAL however said its business outlook for the third and fourth quarters remained "unclear" due to the Greek and eurozone debt crisis, the flooding in Thailand and volatile foreign exchange.

Local media have reported that the company may again go public by September 2012.