HELSINKI, October 28, 2010 (AFP) - Finland's national carrier Finnair bounced back into the black on Thursday, beating expectations with a 32.4 million euro (44.8 million dollar) net profit in the third quarter, buoyed by its growing presence in Asia.

"The third quarter was the first profitable quarter after seven successive loss-making quarters," president and chief executive Mika Vehvilaenen said in a statement.

He attributed the good result to increased Asian travel and the return of the business traveller in Europe.

"The combination of the passenger mix and the large demand increase in Asian traffic has resulted in the very strong increase in our yields, more than 23 percent," Vehvilaenen said.

Third quarter 2009 saw a net loss of 18.1 million euros and there was a 17.6 million euro loss in the second quarter of this year.

The return to profit was expected, FIM Bank analyst Jaakko Tyrvaeinen told AFP, but the results were still better than generally predicted.

"The third quarter results are largely due to the significant growth in ticket prices and cargo," said Tyrvaeinen.

"The volume of cargo shipments has increased by around 40 percent and prices have increased as well."

Finnair's second quarter profits would have been on the plus side as well, if the Icelandic ash cloud had not severely disrupted air traffic in Europe in April, he added.

The company said that is expects the fourth quarter to be profitable also but less so than the third due to seasonal fluctuations and weaker sales.