Cathay Pacific 2014 net profit up 20.2pc at US$406mn
Net profit for 2014 stood at HK\\$3.15 billion (\\$406 million), compared with HK\\$2.62 billion in 2013, it said in a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange.
The airline said it had a slow start to the year, affected by high fuel prices and weakness in the air cargo market, but passenger demand remained "firm".
"For the full year, passenger demand was reasonably firm, with high demand during the peak summer and Christmas periods," Cathay chairman John Slosar said in the filing.
"Our business benefited from lower fuel prices in the fourth quarter, but this was partially offset by fuel hedging losses," Slosar said, adding that cargo demand started to improve in the summer of 2014.
A survey of 16 analysts by Bloomberg News had forecast a profit of HK\\$3.49 billion.
"Although oil prices have come down, they will not have been able to benefit in full because they are obliged to pay the oil contracts at higher prices," Geoffrey Cheng, Bocom International's head of transportation and industrial research told Bloomberg before the results were released.
In 2013 the carrier's net profit more than tripled on a rise in Chinese travellers and fuel-cost savings.
The results come a day after the Hong Kong government announced a plan to build a third runway at the city's Chek Lap Kok international airport, which will cost HK\\$141.5 billion and is expected to be completed by 2023.
Cathay Pacific said in a statement it welcomed the decision and believes it is "necessary" to maintain Hong Kong's competitiveness as a premier aviation hub.
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