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Cathay Pacific Group forecasts reduced cash burn in 2021 second half
June 28th 2021
Cathay Pacific Group's monthly cash burn is forecast to be below HK$1 billion (US$129 million) a month in the second half of calendar 2021. Read More » The outlook was disclosed by Cathay Pacific’s chief customer and commercial officer, Ronald Lam, and chief financial officer, Rebecca Sharpe, in a presentation to the financial sector on June 25. The forecast HK$1 billion monthly cash burn for the six months to December 2021 is a reduction from the airline company’s previous guidance of "less than HK$1.5 billion" for the first half of the calendar year. Despite the lower cash burn, Sharpe said the short-term outlook was highly uncertain. "Cathay's position in the short-term is significantly more challenging than globally. We don't have a domestic market here in Hong Kong," Sharpe said. "And Hong Kong's travel and quarantine constraints arguably have been some of the strictest in the world, although the recent announcement of seven-day quarantine with antibody testing is much welcomed." The airline group had 239 aircraft (89 parked and 150 in service) at May 31, 2021. The total fleet is unchanged from December 31, 2020, when the company had 92 aircraft parked and 147 in service. The company is deferring deliveries of some A350s to 2023 and several A321neos to 2025. Discussions with Boeing about its 777-9 order are continuing, the Hong Kong-headquartered company has said.
