Cathay Pacific Asia Miles - CX semi-annual results

CX posts semi-annual results.

Although made a profit, they actually loss HKD$700+ million in airline operations.

http://www.cathaypacific.com/cpa/en_HK/aboutus/pressroomdetails?refID=54154a33e88e2210VgnVCM10000 00ad21c39____

The way I look at it is that because they took a hedging loss at the end of last year... so it only makes sense for the hedging gain this year...

I know people will say oh but they did have an operating loss... yes I understand that... but you can't look at the overall profit and loss at one year and then decided to look at the operating numbers on another year... so for people like me... I always look at the operating pictures... so last year CX made money, great!... and this year interim results, they made a loss, boo!... which is cool, makes sense in this economy... for others who like to look at the overall picture... then last year CX made a loss and this year this interim results they made a profit... great!

So what I am sick of is analysis and banker and managements always pick and choose the numbers that they want to emphasize... one year they will be complaining that CX made a huge loss because of the hedging loss... and then the next year, the will complain about the operating loss but totally forget about the hedging gain... so what's the deal... it is the same money shuffle around really...

Anyhow... back to the topic... a pretty good results to be honest... at the operating level (which is the number I like to look at)... the loss is much less than SQ... (CX loss USD100 mil in 6 months vs SQ loss USD200 mil in 3 months)... so good for CX really!

Associated Press in Hong Kong
2:04pm, Aug 05, 2009
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Cathay Pacific (SEHK: 0293) Airlines said on Wednesday it returned to profitability in the first half, rebounding from its biggest-loss ever last year – thanks to gains on its jet fuel contracts.
Hong Kong’s flagship carrier earned HK$812 million for the six months ended June 30, compared to a loss of HK$663 million in same period last year.

The better-than-expected results reveal the first, faint signs of recovery after Cathay, like many airlines around the world, took a beating as the economic crisis sent demand for passenger and cargo traffic into a tailspin over the last year. The recent swine flu threat only made matters worse.
Last year, the company lost a whopping HK$8.6 billion – its first annual red ink since the height of the Asian financial crisis in 1998. But for this year, the company is expected to post a profit a little over HK$600 million, according to analysts polled by Thomson Reuters.
“There are cautious signs that the fall in demand has bottomed but there is, as yet, no indication when a sustained pick-up will begin,” Cathay’s chairman Christopher Pratt said in a statement.
Demand for premium business travel and cargo traffic remained low in the first six months, with the number of passengers travelling with Cathay and its subsidiary Dragonair falling 4.2 per cent to 11.9 million, according to Cathay’s interim results.
Cargo and mail shipments for the two airlines combined also recorded a decline of 15.3 per cent to 700,693 tonnes for the same period, the company said.
Beyond actual demand, Cathay benefited from the recent advance in oil prices, saving money on contracts it entered into as a way to hedge against spiking jet fuel prices during the first half of last year.
The company booked a market gain of HK$2.1 billion in the first half, compared to the massive loss of HK$7.6 billion in wrongway bets last year.
During the depths of the downturn, Cathay undertook companywide measures to scale back costs, including offering unpaid leave to employees and suspending construction on a cargo terminal to cut costs.
The company had said previously said it would aim to keep passenger growth flat this year and avoid cutting destinations.