Japan Air System Co. on Thursday lowered profit projections for its current business year in the wake of the terrorist attacks on the United States, but also reported its highest-ever interim operating profits due to restructuring efforts.

JAS revised downward its projection of group pretax profits from 10 billion yen to 5.7 billion yen and net profits from 3 billion yen to 700 million yen for its current business year to March 31.

The nation's third-largest airline meanwhile revised upward its estimated group sales from 418.5 billion yen to 422 billion yen for the year.

JAS began restructuring -- cutting its workforce and changing its routes and planes -- in the 1998 business year to improve business performance.

As a result, for the first half of the 2001 business year, the JAS group posted operating profits of 13.75 billion yen, up 1.9 percent, and 9.41 billion yen in pretax profits, up 11.9 percent, on group sales of 222.1 billion yen, up 5.3 percent.

The carrier's main revenue comes from domestic flights, which it says are recovering after the Sept. 11 attacks.

But surges in premiums for aviation insurance and tightened security measures have forced the airline to revise its full-year projection, it said.