Turbulent times for Asiana as Q2 ends in W47.3B loss

Asiana Airlines, Korea’s No. 2 flag carrier, said yesterday it swung to a net loss in the second quarter due to high fuel prices.

The airline posted a net loss of 47.3 billion won ($41.8 million) in the three months ended June 30, compared with a 17.7 billion won profit a year earlier, the carrier said in a regulatory filing. Sales gained 4.6 percent on-year to 1.37 trillion won, while the company’s operating profit dropped 56 percent on-year to 27 billion won, though it marked its 11th straight quarterly profit since the fourth quarter of 2010.

The carrier said it spent 519.4 billion won to buy jet fuel during the three-month period, up 11 percent from the same period last year.

Passenger traffic on international flights rose 7 percent from Q2 last year due to rising demand for flights bound for China and Japan. Cargo shipments also climbed over 2 percent.

Asiana Airlines paid 33 billion won in interest on its dollar-denominated and local currency debt, a 31.7 percent drop from the same period of last year, due to lowered interest rates and principal reduction. The company said it expects business conditions to improve in the third quarter, helped by lower fuel prices and stable foreign exchange rates.