HONG KONG: Hong Kong flag carrier Cathay Pacific said on Wednesday it is expected to have swung back to profit in 2018, ending two successive losses despite suffering an embarrassing data breach at the end of the year.
The airline said it expects to record a consolidated profit of around $293 million for 2018, compared with $160 million losses the year before, according to a preliminary profit alert.
The company’s share price jumped more than six per cent after the announcement as investors took comfort in the turnaround after two grim years for Asia’s largest carrier.
“In 2018, the passenger business benefited from capacity growth, a focus on customer service and improved revenue management,” the company said in a statement, adding its cargo sector was also “strong”.
Cathay has been overhauling its business after posting it first losses in eight years in 2016, firing more than 600 workers and paring overseas offices and crew stations as it faced stiff competition from budget rivals on the mainland.
It also added international routes and better services on board its flights in a bid to compete with well-heeled Middle Eastern long-distance carriers.
The profit alert suggests those moves have paid off.
The airline narrowed its losses to $33.5 million for the first half of 2018 — a tenth of what their losses were for the same period in 2017. But the second half of the year appears to have brought Cathay squarely back into the black. — AFP
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