Cathay Pacific notes challenging operating environment; benefits from robust financial position

Cathay Pacific Ivan Chu, via the carrier's CXWorld magazine, reiterated (Aug-2016) that the operating environment is "difficult", noting: "Just how difficult it has been was brought into sharp focus in our interim results." He noted: "While the second half of the year is usually better than the first, we believe that this year it will not be as strong as the second six months in 2015. We expect to see our business affected by the same adverse factors, including ever-stronger competition, pressure on yield, currency movements working against us, general economic weakness, and the impact of security concerns." On what the carrier is doing in the face of such challenges, Mr Chu said: "We have shown we can react quickly to market changes, introducing the successful Vantage Pass promotion this summer to make up for the shortfall in corporate premium traffic. We will need to continue to be smart and nimble as our sales teams face up to the challenge of getting the right balance between market share and yield." On the cost side, Mr Chu said: "We should still benefit from low fuel prices, while our unit cost per ATK excluding fuel has been trending downwards thanks to a great effort from the team. The measures that we announced earlier in the year to curtail costs and improve productivity will remain in place". He concluded: "Whatever challenges we face in the short- to medium-term, our robust financial position will enable us to keep making the investments needed to retain our competitive edge and deliver on our promise of a Life Well Travelled". [more - original PR]