STOCKHOLM (AP) -- Scandinavian airline group SAS AB said Thursday it bounced back to a profit in the third quarter, helped by cost cuts and lower prices on fuel.

The company, based in Stockholm, reported a third-quarter net profit of 152 million kronor ($21.5 million), up from a loss of 1.9 billion kronor a year earlier.

The improvement was mainly due to lower operating expenses and cheaper fuel. The cost for jet fuel was about 1 billion kronor lower in the third quarter compared with the same period last year, adjusted for currency changes, SAS said.

The result was also boosted by a gain of 427 million kronor from the sale of SAS's U.K. subsidiary British Midland.

Revenue for the quarter fell by 17 percent to 11.1 billion kronor from 13.3 billion in the same period in 2008.

The profit beat analysts' expectations while revenue was somewhat weaker than expected, according to consensus figures by SIX estimates.

SAS shares rose 7.3 percent to 4.58 kronor ($0.65) in early trading on the Stockholm stock exchange.

"Despite the major challenges in the industry, third-quarter earnings were positive," SAS Chief Executive Mats Jansson said in a statement.

"The effects of the global recession are tangible throughout the entire airline industry," he added. "Significant savings programs are being implemented to address the record yield fall in the industry, which is resulting in major losses."

SAS in August said it would cut between 1,000 and 1,500 more jobs and demand a 10-20 percent reduction of salaries with the aim to cut costs by 2 billion Swedish kronor.

The savings program came on top of a massive overhaul of the company announced in February, which included a 40 percent reduction in staff.

Jansson said the company has carried out cost-saving measures of 2.5 billion on a full-year basis, which had an earnings effect on the first three quarters of 1.3 billion kronor.

Some 1,884 full-time employees have left the company so far.

On the Web: http://www.sasgroup.net