Cathay Pacific seen reporting worst results in 8 years on rivals

SINGAPORE/BEIJING (March 15): In the three years Ivan Chu has been the chief executive officer at Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd., he has seen the marquee carrier’s stock become Asia’s worst performer on the Bloomberg World Airlines Index. He may have little to reassure investors at the company’s earnings conference Wednesday.

Asia’s biggest international airline is set to post its worst full-year performance for 2016 since a loss eight years ago as Chinese carriers and rising costs erode earnings. The median forecast in a Bloomberg News survey of nine analysts is for a profit of HK$450 million ($82 million). The Hong Kong-based company is scheduled to report the results around noon.

Chu, appointed in March 2014, is executing a business revamp to stem the slide as shrinking business travel, pressure from budget operators and more direct routes offered by mainland carriers weigh on Cathay’s yields -- the money earned from flying a passenger for one kilometer and a key measure of profitability.

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