(LEAD) Aircraft manufacturer KAI Q1 net jumps 87 pct on exports

(ATTN: ADDS photo; REWRITES throughout)

SEOUL, April 29 (Yonhap) -- Korea Aerospace Industries Co. (KAI), South Korea's sole aircraft manufacturer, said Wednesday its first-quarter profit jumped 87 percent from a year earlier as jet trainer exports were reflected in the bottom line.

Net profit for the January-March quarter jumped to 79.5 billion won (US$65 million) from 42.5 billion won in the year-ago period, KAI said in a regulatory filing.

"Payments from the (Seoul) government for the Korean fighter jet project were made in the first quarter, and the Thailand government's payments for a part of eight exported T-50TH advanced jet trainers were also reflected in the bottom line," a company spokeswoman said.

The won's weakness against the U.S. dollar also drove up the value of dollar-denominated payments from Thailand when converted into the local currency, she said.

The won fell to an average of 1,125.08 against the dollar in the first quarter from 1,193.60 won a year ago, according to the Bank of Korea.

Operating profit soared 98 percent to 66.1 billion won in the first quarter from 33.4 billion won a year ago. Sales rose 31 percent to 827.7 billion won from 630.9 billion won during the same period.

(END)