Malaysia Airlines' net profit for the third quarter shrank 90 percent to RM38 million from RM364 million in the same period last year due to higher fuel costs.

idris jala and malaysia airline"We made money and this is almost impossible in such adverse times," the airline's managing director and CEO Idris Jala said in a statement.

Revenue for the June-September period was at RM4.1 billion.

Passenger revenue was up four percent to RM2.9 billion while cargo reported revenue of RM589 million.

The national carrier said it recorded its 9th consecutive quarter of profits amid a challenging global environment for the airline industry.

But the company said for the nine months to Sept 30, 2008 net profit had plunged to RM198 million from RM610 million in the same period last year.

Revenue increased by 4 percent to RM11.6 billion year on year.

"Oil prices went to highs never seen before and this hit every airline. Although crude oil price has tapered off, the current financial crisis will result in many bankruptcies and it will take 2-3 years for the aviation industry to fly out of this crisis," Jala said.

MAS has embarked on a cost-saving initiative to turn the company around by axing loss-making routes and increasing fuel charges by 25-80 percent on most routes.