The Cathay Pacific group pocketed HK$3.15 billion (US$406 million) in profit for 2014, up 20.2% from HK$2.62 billion in 2013, as a result of steady passenger demand, low fuel prices, and rise in cargo demand.
Turnover for the year increased by 5.5% to HK$105.991 billion.
The airline said it had to deal with high fuel prices, reduced passenger yield, and continued weakness and over-capacity in the air cargo market in the first half of the year before business improved in the second half.
In a statement, the group said passenger demand was reasonably firm for the year, with high demand during the peak summer and Christmas periods.
While lower fuel prices in the fourth quarter were beneficial, this was partially offset by fuel hedging losses.
As for cargo demand, after a prolonged period of weakness, volumes began to increase in the summer of 2014 and were strong in the fourth quarter. Cargo revenue in 2014 increased by 7.3% to HK$25,400 million compared to the previous year, said an official statement.
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.
Good start to the year
Meanwhile, Cathay Pacific Airways released combined Cathay Pacific and Dragonair traffic figures for February 2015 that show a double-digit increase in both passenger and cargo volumes year-on-year.
The sister airlines carried a total of 2.68 million passengers in February—an increase of 12.4% compared to the same month last year. In the first two months of the year, passenger traffic grew by 7.4% while capacity was up by 7.5%.
The two airlines carried 130,467 tonnes of cargo and mail last month, an increase of 28.8% compared to the previous February. In the first two months of the year, tonnage rose by 19.6% against a capacity increase of 16% and a 24.5% rise in RTKs.
Patricia Hwang, Cathay Pacific general manager of revenue management, said passenger traffic in February was boosted by the Chinese New Year holiday, which fell in January in the previous year.
“It was a very strong peak in terms of leisure demand, with new daily and weekly passenger uplift records set for both airlines,” she stated.
The key routes this year were North Asia, and Japan in particular, and the major holiday destinations in Southeast Asia. Demand on the Southwest Pacific routes, to Australia and New Zealand, was robust throughout the month.
The high year-on-year tonnage growth reflects the overall improvement in the world’s air cargo markets compared to early 2014, along with the extra capacity added by Cathay Pacific in response to the increase in demand, said Mark Sutch, Cathay Pacific general manager of cargo sales and marketing.
He added: “February’s figures were spurred by a surge in exports prior to Mainland factories shutting down for the Chinese New Year holidays. Demand fell away over the holiday period, as expected, but saw quite a rapid pick-up, particularly on the North American lanes.”
Photo: Terence Ong
