Cathay Pacific posts record full-year profit

March 9, 2011 Joshua 1 Comment

A dramatic rebound in the global travel and cargo demand saw Hong Kong carrier Cathay Pacific Airways reporting record full-year profit on Wednesday. Net profit for the year ended in December came in at HK$14.05 billion (US$1.80 billion) – triple from a year ago and beating expectations.

Analysts said it was certainly a good set of results for the carrier. Revenue jumped 34 percent to HK$89.52 billion from HK$67.00 billion, thanks to an increase in premium passengers and strong cargo volumes. In fact, passenger numbers climbed more than 9 percent on-year, with yields – a measure of average fares – shooting up 20 percent to 61.2 HK cents.

Cargo volumes rose by 18 percent – pushing cargo yields higher by 25 percent at HK$2.33. Analysts said the yields were impressive, but Cathay is unlikely to match such strong growth this year. Betting on further growth in Asian travel, Cathay is ordering 25 new planes – fifteen Airbus A330s and ten 777s from Boeing. The total list price of the order is US$6.5 billion – and discussions are underway for another 14 planes.

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