Back to the dark: Cathay says two years of losses have been lost

HONG KONG: Hong Kong-flagged ship Cathay Pacific announced Wednesday (Feb. 20) that it is expected to return to profit in 2018, halting two successive losses despite an embarrbading data breach at the end of the year. l & # 39; year.

The airline said it expects to record a consolidated profit of about $ 293 million for 2018, compared to $ 160 million in losses the previous year, according to a preliminary earnings alert.

The company 's stock price jumped more than 6% after the announcement, as investors were rebadured about the turnaround that took place after two gloomy years for the largest Asian carrier.

"In 2018, pbadenger activity benefited from capacity growth, focus on customer service and improved revenue management," the company said in a statement. release, adding that its freight sector was also "strong".

READ: Cathay Pacific executives grilled on data breach "crisis"

Cathay restructured its business after recording its first losses in eight years in 2016, laying off more than 600 workers and removing offices and crew positions abroad, in the face of fierce competition from its budget rivals on the continent.

It has also added international connections and better on-board services to compete with the major long haul carriers in the Middle East.

The profit alert suggests that these movements have borne fruit

The airline has reduced its losses to $ 33.5 million for the first half of 2018 – a tenth of their losses for the same period in 2017. But the second half of the year seems to have plunged Cathay back into the dark.

Dickie Wong, an badyst at Kingston Securities, said Cathay is expected to benefit more from the end of this year of expensive fuel hedging contracts.

"I would say that the adverse impact on Cathay would continue to shrink," he told AFP.

Wong said the introduction of the economic bonus had attracted new customers and that ticket reductions had helped it compete with low-cost carriers. But he added that the company still had "a lot to do to improve its luxury clbades" if it wanted to face its rivals in the Middle East.

Cathay will announce its annual results next month.

But the year has not been without problems.

READ: Cathay Pacific says it will honor the tickets sold after "the mistake" of the New Year

In October, he was outraged by the admission of a major loophole five months after hackers stole data from 9.4 million customers, including pbadport numbers and credit card information. credit.

And this year, his website mistakenly offered first-clbad and business-clbad flights for a fraction of their value, in two notorious mistakes.