Korean Air net losses narrow in 2020 despite pandemic

SEOUL, Feb. 4 (Yonhap) -- Korean Air Lines Co., South Korea's biggest carrier, said Thursday its net losses narrowed in 2020 from a year earlier, as it offset the pandemic-caused slump in passenger travel with increased cargo deliveries and enjoyed decent gains from an asset sale.

Net losses narrowed to 291.45 billion won (US$260 million) last year from 622.76 billion won the previous year, the company said in a regulatory filing.

Full-year operating profit fell 58 percent on-year to 109.48 billion won last year from 257.47 billion won a year ago. Sales declined 40 percent to 7.60 trillion won from 12.68 trillion won over the cited period.

The proceeds from the sale of its in-flight catering and duty-free business and foreign-exchange gains were also reflected in the full-year bottom line, a company spokeswoman said over the phone.

In August, Korean Air signed a deal to sell the core business unit to local private equity fund Hahn & Company for 990.6 billion won to secure capital amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The national flag carrier has suspended most of its flights on international routes since early last year as countries strengthened entry restrictions to stem the spread of the virus.

Korean Air has focused on receiving more cargo deals to ride out the virus crisis while planning to sell further assets.

kyongae.choi@yna.co.kr
(END)