Swire expects losses in first-half report as coronavirus hits Cathay Pacific, property units
- Swire Pacific’s airline and retail assets are suffering from impact of viral outbreak and social unrest, chairman Merlin Swire says
“The coronavirus has adversely affected our business in Hong Kong and mainland China and the impact on Cathay Pacific is especially clear,” chairman Merlin Swire said at a media briefing on Thursday. “It is the big problem, expecting substantial loss in the first half” despite measures to trim costs, he added.
Cathay Pacific has said it faces substantial losses through June as global peers in the industry reeled from an unprecedented collapse in passenger traffic caused by the pandemic and travel alerts. The airline is trimming its capacity by 65 per cent in March and April, doubling the pullback in February.
Swire Properties, the unit that manages Pacific Place in Central and six retail-hotel complexes in mainland China, has seen lower rents and occupancy this year as the virus slammed the city’s retail industry that struggled through anti-government protests last year.