Asiana Airlines Inc., South Korea’s No. 2 air carrier, said Friday its earnings plunged in the first quarter of 2012 from a year earlier, mainly due to soaring fuel prices.

Net income stood at 32.5 billion won ($27.9 million) in the January-March period, down 94.7 percent from the 61.82 billion won recorded a year ago, the company said in a regulatory filing.

Sales rose 7.6 percent on-year to 1.35 trillion won last quarter, while operating profit dropped 52.7 percent on-year to 35.48 billion won.

Asiana Airlines said the drop in the first-quarter bottom line was attributable to a rise in the cost of jet fuel brought on by high crude prices.

It claimed passenger and cargo handling had not suffered despite the sluggish pace of global economic recovery.

For 2012, Asiana said, it aims to push up sales to 5.73 trillion won, with operating profit target set at 452.0 billion won. (Yonhap News)