[Infostock Daily = Reporter Kim Jong Hyo] Korean Air recorded earnings surprises(beyond expectations) in the second quarter despite the aftermath of the new coronavirus infection(COVID19).
Korean Air announced on the 6th that it recorded sales of 1.6909 trillion won, operating profit of 148.5 billion won, and net profit of 162.4 billion won in 2Q consolidated financial statements.
Sales fell 44% year-on-year due to a decrease in the number of passengers caused by the CCOVID19, but both operating profit and net profit turned into surplus by expanding the operation rate of cargo planes and increasing the supply of cargo through passenger planes. Its operating profit has exceeded 96.9 billion won(estimated average) in stock market consensus for the past 3 months.
In the case of the cargo business, it has become difficult to transport Belly(the cargo compartment under the passenger plane) cargo due to a sharp drop in passenger flight operations, but the supply increased by 1.9% by increasing the utilization rate of cargo aircraft by 22% compared to the same period of last year due to thorough maintenance and inspection.
In addition, transportation performance(FTK) increased 17.3% year-on-year based on active efforts to attract demand. As a result, cargo sales grew 94.6% year-on-year to 1.225 trillion won.
Passenger business saw its transport performance(RPK) drop 92.2% year-on-year due to a decrease in demand on all routes as the impact of COVID19. However, it is positive that domestic demand has been recovering mainly on Jeju routes since April, and that demand for international flights has improved slightly since June.
Korean Air plans to concentrate on operating high-efficiency large cargo bases in the second half of the year, considering that the COVID19 will continue to affect. The company plan to maximize profits by actively attracting anti-virus goods, electronic commerce volume, demand for semiconductor equipment and auto parts. It is also pushing for a plan to remove passenger seats and use them as cargo planes.
Reporter Kim Jong Hyo kei1000@infostock.com