Cathay Pacific in the green for 2014

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The Cathay Pacific Group has upped the stakes with an attributable profit of HK$3,150 million for 2014.

This compares to the profit of HK$2,620 million in the same period in 2013, with the overall turnover for the year jumping by 5.5% to HK$105,991 million.

In the first half of 2014 the Group’s business was affected by high fuel prices, reduced passenger yield and continued weakness and over-capacity in the air cargo market.

But business bounced back in the second half of the year, with passenger demand firm, high demand during the peak summer and Christmas periods, and cargo demand also on the rise in the fourth quarter.

The Group’s business benefited from lower fuel prices in the fourth quarter, but this was partially offset by fuel hedging losses.

“It was encouraging to see an overall improvement in our business in 2014. That improvement has continued in the first quarter of this year and we are positive about the overall prospects for 2015,” Cathay Pacific chairman John Slosar said.

“We continue to benefit from the lower net fuel prices. Our associates are also benefiting from these positive factors. While we face growing competition in our passenger business, which makes it harder to maintain yield, overall demand remains strong and the outlook is positive.”

Passenger revenue for Cathay Pacific and Dragonair in 2014 increased by 5.4% to HK$75,734 million compared to the previous year.

Capacity increased by 5.9% as a result of the introduction of new routes to Doha, Manchester and Newark, as well as increased frequencies on some existing routes.

Cathay will also introduce passenger services to Zurich, Boston and Dusseldorf in March, May and September 2015, respectively.

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.

Strong competition put downward pressure on yield on regional routes.

The Group continues to invest heavily in its fleet, taking delivery of 16 new aircraft in 2014: nine Boeing 777-300ER aircraft, five Airbus A330-300 aircraft and, for Dragonair, two Airbus A321-200 aircraft.

At December 31 2014 the Group had 79 new aircraft on order for delivery up to 2024. A total of nine new aircraft are scheduled for delivery in 2015.

New business and economy class seats had been installed in all Dragonair Airbus A330-300 and six A321-200 aircraft, as well as adding new first class seats to six Dragonair Airbus A330-300 aircraft.

In October 2014 a refreshed logo was introduced for Cathay Pacific. This is part of a new approach to design, to be seen on the airline’s website, in the new lounge at Haneda in Tokyo, and in the refurbished first class lounge in The Pier at Hong Kong International Airport, which will open in June 2015.

“In 2014 we continued our efforts to make Cathay Pacific and Dragonair better airlines for our customers,” Slosar added.

“The fact that we won the World’s Best Airline award for the fourth time is clear recognition from air travellers worldwide of the work we have put into providing superior products and services.

“The Group’s financial position remains strong, which will enable us to continue with our long-term strategic investment in the business and our commitment to reinforcing Hong Kong’s position as one of the world’s premier aviation hubs.”

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