TOKYO (Kyodo) -- ANA Holdings Inc. said Thursday its net profit dropped 13.3 percent from a year earlier to 80.78 billion yen ($530 million) in the six months ended September as heftier aircraft maintenance costs more than offset record sales growth.

The parent of All Nippon Airways Co. posted a record-high 1.1 trillion yen in sales the first half ended Sept. 30, up 9.7 percent from a year earlier, with booming inbound tourism boosting international flight passengers. Operating profit declined 16.5 percent to 108.37 billion yen.

"We will keep boosting sales while controlling costs," President and CEO Koji Shibata said at a press conference.

For the current business year through March, the company raised its net profit outlook to 120 billion from an earlier projection of 110 billion. It now plans to book compensation income related to aircraft.

Still, the latest figure represents a 23.6 percent drop from the last fiscal year.

The full-year sales forecast was lifted to 2.22 trillion yen from 2.19 trillion yen, with the carrier aiming to increase the number of passengers on international flights by 10 percent from the previous year while newly introducing routes to Milan, Stockholm, and Istanbul from Tokyo's Haneda airport.