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Cargolux posts 13-fold profit hike to US$334 million after 2 hard years

LUXEMBOURG'S Cargolux airline's 2015 net profit increased 13-fold to US$49 million while it operating profit was up 33.6 per cent to US$334 million during the same period.

This result comes after a difficult two years with the sale of a 35 per cent share to China's Henan Civil Aviation & Investment Co (HNCA), caused serious internal dissention.

As Cargolux is a non-listed it is not required to reveal detailed financial and operational data, there are no revenue figures available.

Cargolux carried 890,000 tonnes in 2015, up 7.4 per cent year on year, setting a record with freight tonne kilometres (FTKs) up 8.7 per cent.

This increase was extraordinary given that the International Air Transport Association (IATA) reported worldwide cargo traffic up only 2.2 per cent in 2015.

Cargolux also increased its freighter fleet to twenty-five 747-400Fs and 747-8Fs while achieving a load factor of 65.9 per cent, down one per cent from 2014.

The sale of a 35 per cent share to China's Henan Civil Aviation & Investment Co (HNCA), a financial vehicle of the Henan provincial government, brought about operational structural change.

At the end of 2015, however, the dual-hub strategy appears to have paid off. Cargolux is now operating 13 weekly frequencies from the new hub, and has also launched transpacific service between Zhengzhou and Chicago.

Regarding the unions, with a new collective work agreement in place, it appears that Cargolux can look forward to three years of labour peace.

Further, Cargolux and its Chinese partners have now committed to launch a joint-venture cargo airline based in Zhengzhou.

Cargolux China, as it will be called, is expected to begin service next year, and grow to a fleet of five freighters within its first three years of operation.