Cathay Pacifc reports leap in profits
Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific saw a 20% increase in profits to HK$3,150 million (£277m) last year when turnover rose 5.5% to HK$106,991 million.
The airline said it was hit by high fuel prices during the first half of the year when passenger yields were also down, but business improved in the second half.
It said passenger demand for the full year was ‘reasonably firm’, with demand high during the peak summer and Christmas periods.
The airline admitted it had benefited from a fall in fuel prices in the fourth quarter, but it said this was partially offset by losses it had made by buying some of its fuel in advance at higher prices.
Passenger revenue for Cathay Pacific and its regional subsidiary Dragonair in 2014 increased by 5.4%.
Capacity increased by 5.9% as a result of the introduction of new routes to Manchester, Doha and Newark and increased frequencies on some existing routes.
The load factor increased by 1.1 percentage points to 83.3% and the number of passengers carried increased by 5.5% to 31.6 million.
Yield fell by 1.8% to HK67.3 cents despite an improvement in the second half compared to the first half of the year.
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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