Cathay suffers first loss since GFC in 2008
- Latest News
- Thursday, 16 March 2017
Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific has posted its first annual loss since the height of the global financial crisis (GFC) in 2008.
It blamed "intense competition" and lower premium passenger demand plus a 13.2 per cent hit to its cargo revenues.
The competition (from major Chinese and other carriers including Gulf airlines) has been hurting its market share on international routes to Europe and the United States, while budget carriers have hit loads and yields in its home market region.
Its HK$74 million 2016 net loss reversed a HK$773 million profit in 2015 and chairman John Slosar has warned 2017 will be similarly challenging.
The 2016 result shows passenger revenue dropped 8.4 per cent year-on-year to HK$8.6 billion, hit by overcapacity in the market and weak foreign currencies.
The group's cargo revenue in 2016 fell by 13.2 per cent year-on-year to HK$2.6 billion despite tonnages increasing by 3.1 per cent and load factors up 0.2 percentage points to 64.4 per cent.
Cargo yields, however, fell by 16.3 per cent.
