Cathay Pacific’s surprise HK$344 million profit tempered by predictions of ‘substantial loss’ for first half of 2020
- Better than expected second half of 2019 for airline, which warns of potentially damaging financial consequences from coronavirus
- Revenue falls just shy of HK$107 billion target as annual profits drop 28 per cent
Cathay Pacific faces substantial losses in the first half of this year after making a surprise profit of HK$344 million (US$44.2 million) in the last six months of 2019, the airline has revealed.
The airline said it was unclear when the tough conditions would improve, as business continued to be “extremely challenging financially”.
Patrick Healy, Cathay’s chairman, said: “Travel demand has dropped substantially and we have taken a series of short-term measures in response … despite these measures we expect to incur a substantial loss for the first half of 2020.”
Healy, who described the challenges facing the aviation industry as “unprecedented,” said he was cautiously forecasting a recovery in the second half of the year, but added the situation could change quickly.
During the Covid-19 crisis, the Cathay group is carrying 20,000 passengers daily in March, down 81 per cent, and had parked up to 150 planes a day, the airline said.