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Cathay profit falls 82pc to US$45.5 million as revenue sinks 9.3pc

HONG KONG's Cathay Pacific Airways and Dragonair's first half profit fell 82 per cent to HK$353 million (US$45.5 million), drawn on revenues of HK$45.68 billion, down 9.3 per cent year on year.

"We expect the operating environment in the second half of the year to continue to be impacted by the same adverse factors as in the first half," said Cathay chairman John Slosar.

Cargo capacity for Cathay Pacific and Dragonair rose by 0.6 per cent in the first half.

The carrier's load factor decreased by 1.9 percentage points, to 62.2 per cent. Total volume fell 0.2 per cent to 866,000 tonnes.

While the overall market was weak during throughout the first half, the carrier noted that tonnage stabilised in the second quarter.

Yield fell by 17.6 per cent, which the report attributed to "strong competition, overcapacity and the suspension (from April) of fuel surcharges".

European routes continued to exhibit weak demand, and demand on transpacific routes softened as well.

Shipments from Hong Kong and mainland China to North America, which account for most of the carrier's volume, took a beating. Cathay operated 33 flights per week to North America in the first half of 2016, down from 37 weekly flights in the first half of 2015.

India was a rare bright spot. Pharmaceutical products and mail (the yield on which is above average) were also areas of growth, showing increases of 80 per cent and 11 per cent respectively.