Cathay Pacific registered record profit

Cathay Pacific, the largest airline registered in Hong Kong, registered a first-half profit for HK$1.97 billion ($254 million) from a year earlier, helped by lower fuel prices, but the result missed expectations due to hedging losses.

Net profit for the first six months of the year was up nearly six times, but revenue for the period fell 0.9 percent to HK$50.39 billion.

The growth was due to a 35 percent, or a HK$7.08 billion, decrease in fuel costs and increase in passenger and cargo capacity.

But the results missed the median estimate of six analysts polled by Bloomberg, who were expecting a net profit of HK$2.22 billion.

The airline said it lost HK$3.74 billion in fuel hedging losses after a slump in crude oil prices last year, and warned it still faces “strong competition” from other airlines.

A fall in fuel prices and a rise in the number of flights that are filled to capacity means airlines are expected to make $29.3 billion, more than a previous estimate, in collective profit on revenues of $727 billion in 2015, the International Air Transport Association said in June.