4 March 2002HONG KONG - Cathay Pacific Airways is expected to announce a fall of up to 82 percent in net profits for last year on Wednesday according to analysts, Agence France-Presse reported. However, profits are expected though to recover somewhat this year.
The anticipated drop in net profit – which is expected to fall from HK$5 billion (US$641 million) the previous year to between HK$511million to HK$900 million in 2001 – will be a result of the September 11-induced travel slump, reduced yield because of heavy discounting, and disruption caused by the airline’s ongoing pilot dispute, the agency reported.
This year should be quite a bit better, according to Patrick Pang, South China Research analyst, who predicted a 2002 net profit of HK$1.20 billion. "We believe the worst is over for Cathay."