Cathay Pacific on Track to Recovery With 1st Half-Year Profit Since COVID

Hong Kong’s flagship carrier Cathay Pacific is back in the black as it reported its first half-year profit in three years, solidifying signs of recovery in an industry once hard hit by the pandemic.

Cathay Pacific logged an interim net profit of HK$4.268 billion in the first half of 2023, compared to a loss of nearly HK$5 billion in the same period last year.

The latest earnings report bodes well for the airline company’s goal of resuming 70% of its pre-pandemic passenger capacity levels by the end of the year. It is also a marked turnaround for the airline, whose pandemic rebound had been slow due to relatively stricter border controls in Hong Kong.

In its earnings statement, Cathay Pacific said its first-half performance “demonstrate[s] that we are on the right track” despite being only “part way” along its rebuilding plans. The group added that it will buy back 50% of the preference shares held by the Hong Kong government before the end of the year, and the remainder by the end of July 2024.