Cathay in big annual profit turnaround

Cathay Pacific has pulled off an impressive turnaround that is expected to produce a net profit for the 2018 financial year of $HK2.3 billion ($US290 m). This compares with a net loss in fiscal 2017 of $HK1.26 billion as the Hong Kong-based airline posted its first back-to-back losses in more than 70 years. The airline revealed the guidance in a statement to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange Wednesday. READ: Cathy launches new Hong Kong-inspired menu. Among the factors to which it attributed the turnaround were a focus on customer service and improved revenue management. “Load factors were sustained and yield improved despite competitive pressures,’’ it added. “The cargo business was strong. Capacity, yield and load factors increased.  The Company’s transformation programme has had a positive impact.” The airline cautioned it was still finalizing its annual results, which are due to be released in March. Cathay has been expanding its network,  revamping lounges and improving its inflight product. It has also been restructuring to reduce costs and improve efficiency in the face of increased competition from mainland Chinese and regional low-cost carriers. Its interim net loss of $HK263m was better than some analysts predicted and airline officials predicted it would benefit from an improved second-half performance. Chairman John Slosar said at the time the operating environment remained challenging but the three -year transformation was on track. “There is still much to do, but I am confident in our future,’’ he said. The second half was not without incident, however, and Cathay revealed in October that a data breach had compromised 9.4 million customers. It later said cybersecurity experts engaged to search the dark web and other sites had found no evidence the stolen details had appeared in criminal forums. More recently, it made international headlines when it decided to honor $US16,000 premium tickets accidentally sold for $US647.