China's fourth biggest carrier reported on Thursday a 15.88 percent year-on-year net profit increase in 2015 amid a highly competitive airline industry.

Hainan Airlines annual report submitted to the Shanghai Stock Exchange revealed that the company hit a 3 billion yuan ($461 million) net profit in 2015 as oil prices rolled back by as much as 32 percent.

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The airline company, owned mostly by billionaire Chen Feng, posted a revenue of 35.23 billion yuan, down 2.27 percent year-on-year. Meanwhile, its income per share rose to 0.25 yuan in 2015 from 0.21 yuan in 2014.

Passenger earnings, which comprise nearly 97 percent of the total revenue, amounted to 32.1 billion yuan as oils were sold cheaper and no-hedging policy was implemented.

The company also posted a 1.87 billion yuan foreign-exchange loss, which is 250 times higher than in 2014, following an unexpected devaluation of the Chinese yuan in August. This caused volatility in the foreign exchange market, a problem faced by airline companies since aircrafts are purchased in dollars.

The Haikou-based airline reportedly accommodated almost 39 million passengers in 2015, an 8.43 percent increase from 2014. It has also added 39 new aircrafts and retired six. With over 200 aircrafts available for operation as of December 2015, the carrier started its flights to Chicago and Seattle from Beijing and added routes from Shanghai, the hub of China Eastern Airlines Corporation.

To meet its expansion and travel demand, Hainan has ordered 30 787-9 Dreamliner aircrafts worth $7.7 billion from Boeing. The new members of its fleet are scheduled to be delivered in 2021, adding to Hainan Air's current 10 Dreamliner planes.

John Mathai, Bloomberg Intelligence analyst, anticipates that Hainan's bigger competitors will also report bigger revenues next week

Tagschina, Hainan Airlines, airline industry, Dreamliner aircrafts, Boeing, China Eastern Airlines Corp.