A Cathay Pacific Airways flight prepares to take off from Melbourne International Airport.
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Cathay Pacific Airways is ready to rebuild the airline and Hong Kong’s hub status as it emerges from the pandemic, the carrier’s chief executive said on Wednesday after reporting a 2022 loss in its latest forecast.
Cathay shares rose as much as 1.4% to 7.95 Hong Kong dollars after the results were released, reversing morning losses and beating a 2.4% decline in the broader market as investors chose to withdraw due to huge losses during the pandemic.
“We are very encouraged to see a bright light at the end of the tunnel in the second half of 2022, and the positive momentum continues into 2023,” Chief Executive Ronald Lam said in a statement.
“After three years of the Covid-19 pandemic, we are finally entering an exciting new phase where we will rebuild Cathay Pacific for Hong Kong.”
The airline reported an annual loss of HK$6.55 billion ($834.4 million) for the 12 months ended Dec. 31, wider than the previous year’s loss but near the bottom of January estimates for a loss of between HK$6.4 billion and HK$7 billion.
Analysts expect an average annual loss of HK$4.4 billion, according to Refinitiv data. He forecast a profit of HK$3.9 billion for this year now that Hong Kong and mainland China have ended border restrictions.
Cathay has parked much of its fleet in the desert during the pandemic due to lack of demand and its recovery has lagged its traditional rivals. Singapore Airlineswhich faced less stringent rules last year.
The airline has been hit hard by Covid-related flight cancellations, border closures and strict quarantine measures for crew, resulting in drastic headcount reductions.
Cathay said it was operating at about a third of its pre-pandemic passenger flight capacity in December and ended the year operating passenger flights to 58 destinations, double the 29 destinations the airline was targeting in January 2022.
It will operate at about 70% of its pre-pandemic passenger flight capacity by the end of 2023, with the goal of returning to pre-pandemic levels by the end of 2024. It is operating at about two-thirds of its pre-pandemic cargo flight capacity level. by the end of 2022.