Fuel price hedging helped to cushion higher oil costs, the company's finance director Alex Mbugua told investors, offsetting rising costs due to the shilling's depreciation against the dollar. "Our hedge book is healthy. We are in the money for up to $30 million," Mbugua said. The hedging gains sent earnings per share for the period up nearly 42 percent to 4.40 shillings per share. The airline, which is 26 percent owned by Air France-KLM carried 1.855 million passengers, a 22 percent increase on the same period last year, Mbugua said. It also carried 16 percent more tonnes of cargo at improved average unit prices, the finance chief said, adding that sent its total revenue higher by a third to just under 55 billion shillings. Ranked as one of the largest airlines in Africa, the airline's strategy rests on connecting Africa to the rest of the world and vice versa, through its Nairobi hub. It is embarking on a fundraising round through a cash call to finance the expansion of its fleet, which it wants to double in five years.