PUBLISHED MARCH 07, 2014 Weak cargo sector weighs on Asia-Pacific airlines Their shares drop in Feb while global carriers gain 6%, Iata data shows BY NISHA RAMCHANDANI SHARES in Asia Pacific carriers remained weak in February, even as worldwide airline shares increased 6 per cent month-on-month boosted by robust financial performance. According to data from the International Air Transport Association (Iata), the gain in global airline shares was generally in line with the broader market as the FTSE Global All Cap increased 5 per cent. Singapore Airlines ended yesterdays trading at S$10.33, up nine cents. During February, the counter hit a low of S$9.44 and a high of S$10.25. Hong Kongs Cathay Pacific closed yesterday at HK$15.82, up 14 Hong Kong cents, versus a high of HK$15.88 and a low of HK$15.06 in February. Meanwhile, Australias Qantas was up one Australian cent at A$1.15 yesterday. During the month under review, it rose to A$1.27 and sank to a low of A$1.03. Data in Iatas Airlines Financial Monitor showed that unlike the North American carriers, which are showing stronger operating profits and post-tax net profits, the performance of Asia Pacific carriers is being weighed down by weakness in the cargo markets. A sample of 12 Asia Pacific airlines posted an operating profit of US$436 million in Q4 last year, versus US$1.358 billion in the year-ago period, while post-tax net loss was US$130 million, compared to a post-tax net profit of US$1.039 billion previously. Jet fuel prices remained fairly flat month-on-month in February, averaging around US$125 per barrel, although Iata cautioned that recent developments in the Ukraine could end up impacting crude oil prices. In an update on fares, Iata highlighted that global fares continue to remain weak, hurt by the Asian region as well as currency fluctuations. Still, Asia Pacific carriers saw strong growth in passenger traffic (measured in revenue-passenger-kilometres) in January, up 11.2 per cent year-on-year. This outstripped a 10.3 per cent expansion in capacity (measured in available-seat-kilometres), resulting in a passenger load factor of 77.2 per cent. Globally, passenger traffic rose 8 per cent while capacity expanded by 6.7 per cent, giving rise to a 78.1 per cent load factor.
Posted on: Fri, 07 Mar 2014 00:40:24 +0000
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