Asiana Airlines reports 2021 net loss of 279 billion won

An Asiana Airlines aircraft takes off from Incheon International Airport. [YONHAP]

Asiana Airlines reported a net loss of 279 billion won ($233 million) in 2021, compared to a 397.5 billion won net loss the previous year.

The carrier is still in the red, but beat the FnGuide market consensus of a net loss of 600 billion won.

Its revenue rose 15.5 percent on year to 4.11 trillion won, slightly beating expectations of 4.01 trillion won

It logged an operating profit of 456.5 billion won, compared to an operating loss of 63 billion won the previous year. The figure greatly beat the market consensus of a 116.5-billion-won operating profit.

Asiana Airlines stated that the global supply bottleneck helped increase air cargo demand. Sales from cargo flights jumped 47 percent on year to a record high of 3.15 trillion won.

In 2021, it retrofit 5 passenger aircraft to carry more cargo by air. With the change, air cargo sales from U.S. routes rose 57 percent on year and Europe’s 20 percent.

International passenger flights were still weak due to the pandemic, but sales from domestic travel rose 21 percent on year.

"In 2022, we will try our best to improve profitability not only in the air cargo business but also in passenger transport through quickly responding to changing Covid-19 situations and flexibly operating routes,” said a spokesperson for Asiana Airlines.

Asiana Airlines is currently in the process of being acquired by Korean Air Lines, which swung back into the black in terms of net profit and reported higher annual revenue.

Earnings were announced after the market close. The carrier’s shares dropped 3 percent to 21,050 won on Tuesday.

BY LEE TAE-HEE [lee.taehee2@joongang.co.kr]