Cathay Pacific posts annual loss of $ 161 m, biggest in nine years

Reuters: Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd posted on Wednesday its biggest annual loss in nine years as fierce competition from mainland Chinese and Middle Eastern rivals exacerbated problems with overcapacity.

It logged a net loss of HK$1.26 billion ($160.69 million) for 2017, wider than last year’s loss of HK$575 million but smaller than an average estimate of HK$2.15 billion drawn from 11 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters. It reported an attributable profit of HK$792 million in the second half, helped by an improving cargo market, which helped offset its first half loss of HK$2.05 billion.

The company is in its second year of a three-year turnaround program that aims to make HK$4 billion in savings. It has announced job cuts and plans to boost productivity including increasing the number of economy-class seats on Boeing 777 planes.