Cathay Pacific enjoys 54.7% increase in first-half profit
Thursday August 9, 2007
The addition of Dragonair accounts into Cathay Pacific's books, along with higher yields and robust demand, helped the Hong Kong-based airline group lift its profit attributed to shareholders for the six months ended June 30 by 54.7% to HK$2.58 billion ($329.57 million) from HK$1.67 billion in the year-ago semester.
Group turnover rose 27.9% to HK$34.63 billion and expenses climbed 25.2% to HK$26.29 billion. Operating profit was up 50.7% to HK$3.19 billion compared to HK$2.12 billion. Dragonair became a wholly owned subsidiary of the CX Group last fall (ATWOnline, Sept. 29, 2006).
"This is a strong result, with record figures posted despite the impact of the drop in cargo demand and the continued impact of high fuel prices. The Group is in good shape at the moment, and we are now seeing clear benefits resulting from the acquisition of Dragonair," Chairman Christopher Pratt said.
The two airlines carried a combined 11 million passengers during the semester, with a load factor of 78.1% and yields of HK$0.537. Cathay Pacific's load factor rose 0.5 point to 79.6% as passenger numbers climbed 4.1% to 8.5 million and yield increased 10.9% to HK$0.508, mainly as a result of "strong demand" from first and business class passengers.
CX's freight load factor fell 1.4 points to 66.3% and yield dropped 8.3% to HK$1.55. "We see the downturn in cargo as short term and remain confident in the future of Hong Kong's airfreight industry," Pratt said. The company has submitted a formal bid for the third cargo terminal at HKG, which Pratt said is "crucial to Hong Kong's future competitiveness as an airfreight hub."
CX plans to take delivery of its first five of 23 777-300ERs from September through December and plans to install its new long-haul product on 15 aircraft by year end. "The second half results should benefit from the additional capacity, although higher fuel prices would have a negative effect," Pratt said.
by Geoffrey Thomas
Last edited by XCX-SOHAPPY; 10th Aug 2007 at 00:49.