News
Korean Air restored to profitability
January 28th 2022
Korean Air (KAL) has reported a net profit of 638.7 billion won (US$538.8 million) for the 12 months to December 31, swinging back to the black from a net loss of 194.6 billion won a year earlier. Read More » Revenue rose 18%, to 8.8 trillion won, KAL said. Operating profit - this removes one-off items and is regarded by some analysts as the best indicator of financial performance - rose 15%, to 1.5 trillion won. It was the highest annual operating profit in the company's 53-year history. The results were buoyed by strong cargo business and increases in passenger traffic from the opening of quarantine-free travel to destinations such as Guam, Hawaii and Singapore from South Korea. "The spread of the Omicron variant may further delay the normalisation of global supply chain woes, and subsequently change global consumption and investment patterns," KAL said. "The cargo business will keep these uncertainties in mind as it strengthens its capabilities to render stable and dependable air cargo capacity, and actively responds to market changes by operating charter and cargo-only passenger flights." KAL expects the speed of passenger demand recovery to be determined by the COVID-19 variant situation and border regulations, adding it will continue to flexibly operate routes in response to market trends.
