I am sure it is legitimate. However, it was also reported that the fuel hedging strategy contributed over US$300M to the bottom line. So a Net Profit of US$14M would have been a loss of US$286M if it hadn't been for a bet that came off.
Good business acumen? Maybe. But if I recall correctly Cathay and others had big hedging gains in 07/08 followed by massive losses in 09 when the oil price plummeted.
So I guess time will tell if they can continue to out gamble the market and whether they can make a profit without a little gambling action on the side. I certainly hope so!