Asian Equities Analyst, Logistics & Transport, Tracking Traffic

Daniel Hellberg

Asian Equities Analyst, Logistics & Transport

Tracking Traffic

Focusing on Asian logistics, transportation, and travel companies

Equity Bottom-Up

<ul>
<li>March demand growth improved vs weak February, but Q125 showed clear slowdown vs trend</li>
<li>Relatively strong demand growth for outbound travel is no longer lifting airline load factors</li>
<li>Near-Term, we no longer view Chinese travel as attractive, as stocks appear to lack catalysts</li>
</ul>


March demand growth improved vs weak February, but Q125 showed clear slowdown vs trend
Relatively strong demand growth for outbound travel is no longer lifting airline load factors
Near-Term, we no longer view Chinese travel as attractive, as stocks appear to lack catalysts


Monthly Chinese Tourism Tracker | March and Q125 Demand Growth Weak Vs Trend (April 2025)

Global Mobility/Transport, Equity Long-Short

Mohshin Aziz

Cathay Pacific Airways / Equity Bottom-Up

<ul>
<li>FY23 net profit of HKD9.1b, easily beating the consensus forecast of HKD8.5b, and announced a surprise dividend, the first since 2019, signally pandemic effects are over </li>
<li>Perfect execution from the team, leveraging on a strong market </li>
<li>Cathay Pacific is a value <strong>BUY</strong>, our target price of HK$9.90 (+10% UPSIDE) implies 10x FY2024 PE. We will update more after tuning in the 2 pm analyst briefing </li>
</ul>


FY23 net profit of HKD9.1b, easily beating the consensus forecast of HKD8.5b, and announced a surprise dividend, the first since 2019, signally pandemic effects are over 
Perfect execution from the team, leveraging on a strong market 
Cathay Pacific is a value BUY, our target price of HK$9.90 (+10% UPSIDE) implies 10x FY2024 PE. We will update more after tuning in the 2 pm analyst briefing 


Cathay Pacific (293 HK, BUY, TP HK$9.90): FY23 Better than Expected, and Surprise Dividends

Founder & Managing Director, AIR Control Tower, AIR Control Tower

Neil Glynn

Founder & Managing Director, AIR Control Tower

AIR Control Tower

AIR Control Tower is an independent research and analysis platform. Its mission is to provide impactful insight and analysis across the global airline industry at a company and market level via detailed financial models to aid decision making for key stake holders at a time when risks have seldom, if ever, been higher and the global sector grapples with the imperative of funding de-carbonisation. Unique analysis forecasting global carrier-level earnings/cash flows, and restructuring/de-leveraging prospects, is designed to dynamically assess the health of the industry, predict surprises and identify potential requirements for third party support.

Insights on the global airline industry

<ul>
<li>We publish a detailed update on the APAC airline sector, featuring ANA, Cathay Pacific, JAL, Korean Air, Qantas and Singapore Airlines, addressing cargo yield normalisation, and unit cost inflation.</li>
<li>We see 24% upside to consensus EBITDAR for JAL in FY24 to March 2024, and 24% downside risk at Singapore Airlines based on our detailed analysis and quarterly earnings bridges.</li>
<li>We expect earnings at most carriers to decline in calendar 2024 versus 2023 as the combination of cargo yield normalisation, fuel price pressure, and further capacity restoration prompt margin declines.</li>
</ul>


We publish a detailed update on the APAC airline sector, featuring ANA, Cathay Pacific, JAL, Korean Air, Qantas and Singapore Airlines, addressing cargo yield normalisation, and unit cost inflation.
We see 24% upside to consensus EBITDAR for JAL in FY24 to March 2024, and 24% downside risk at Singapore Airlines based on our detailed analysis and quarterly earnings bridges.
We expect earnings at most carriers to decline in calendar 2024 versus 2023 as the combination of cargo yield normalisation, fuel price pressure, and further capacity restoration prompt margin declines.


APAC Airline Sector – Cost Inflation Management Differentials Crucial as Cargo Yields Normalise

HK/China Equity Long-Short

Osbert Tang, CFA

<ul>
<li>The recent discrimination incident will likely affect traffic recovery pace of <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/cathay-pacific-airways-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:243:1" rel="noopener">Cathay Pacific Airways (293 HK)</a> negatively if it turns into a full-scale boycott by mainland passengers.</li>
<li>The scenario of CX becoming majority-owned by <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/air-china-ltd-h" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:8239:1" rel="noopener">Air China Ltd (H) (753 HK)</a> is getting increasingly possible. This may not be totally positive to CX given CA's weaker service ranking.</li>
<li>Consensus forecasts now look somewhat bullish following the incident, and the stock's 0.7x P/B does not stand out as attractive relative to history or ROE (7% in FY25F).</li>
</ul>


The recent discrimination incident will likely affect traffic recovery pace of Cathay Pacific Airways (293 HK) negatively if it turns into a full-scale boycott by mainland passengers.
The scenario of CX becoming majority-owned by Air China Ltd (H) (753 HK) is getting increasingly possible. This may not be totally positive to CX given CA's weaker service ranking.
Consensus forecasts now look somewhat bullish following the incident, and the stock's 0.7x P/B does not stand out as attractive relative to history or ROE (7% in FY25F).


Thematic (Sector/Industry)

<ul>
<li>Our positive calls on <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/fu-shou-yuan-international" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:18168:1" rel="noopener">Fu Shou Yuan (1448 HK)</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/air-china-ltd-h" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:8239:1" rel="noopener">Air China Ltd (753 HK)</a> and negative call on <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/china-conch-environment-protection-holdings-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:4827:1" rel="noopener">Conch Environment (587 HK)</a> have generated the best wins in 2022.</li>
<li>These calls achieved returns of 56.8%, 34.2% and 43.5%, respectively, which we think are remarkable given the losses of 16.3% for HSI and 19.3% for HSCEI YTD.</li>
<li>In 2023, we expect Fu Shou Yuan <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/fu-shou-yuan-international" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:18168:1" rel="noopener"></a>continue to do well and Conch Environment to remain under pressure. It may be prudent to take some profit on Air China. <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/air-china-ltd-h" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:8239:1" rel="noopener"></a> </li>
</ul>


Our positive calls on Fu Shou Yuan (1448 HK) and Air China Ltd (753 HK) and negative call on Conch Environment (587 HK) have generated the best wins in 2022.
These calls achieved returns of 56.8%, 34.2% and 43.5%, respectively, which we think are remarkable given the losses of 16.3% for HSI and 19.3% for HSCEI YTD.
In 2023, we expect Fu Shou Yuan continue to do well and Conch Environment to remain under pressure. It may be prudent to take some profit on Air China.  


Our Three Best Calls in 2022: Review and Outlook for 2023

Hong Kong

Cathay Pacific Airways Limited operates scheduled airline services. The Company also provides related services, including airline catering, aircraft handling, and engineering.

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Cathay Pacific Airways (293 HK)

Monthly Chinese Tourism Tracker | March and Q125 Demand Growth Weak Vs Trend (April 2025)

Data from China's leading airlines and some popular regional destinations show a clear slowing of travel demand growth in March and Q125. For now,...

Tracking Traffic

Cathay Pacific (293 HK, BUY, TP HK$9.90): FY23 Better than Expected, and Surprise Dividends

Cathay Pacific exceeds profit forecast for FY23, announces surprise dividend, signaling pandemic recovery and strong market performance. Maintain...

Mohshin Aziz

APAC Airline Sector – Cost Inflation Management Differentials Crucial as Cargo Yields Normalise

Deep dive on earnings prospects of the top tier ex-China APAC full service carriers illustrates marked differences in inflation management, and...

Neil Glynn

Cathay Pacific (293 HK): Hard Landing

The recent iscrimination incident is likely to weigh on near-term traffic recovery while the increasingly possible scenario of CX becoming majority...

Osbert Tang, CFA

Our Three Best Calls in 2022: Review and Outlook for 2023

In 2023, we expect share prices of Fu Shou Yuan to continue to do well and Conch Environment to remain under pressure. For Air China, given rich...

Osbert Tang, CFA

Price Gauge

52-week Range

Market Cap (USDm)

P/E

Dividend (Yield)

Monthly Chinese Tourism Tracker | March and Q125 Demand Growth Weak Vs Trend (April 2025)

Data from China's leading airlines and some popular regional destinations show a clear slowing of travel demand growth in March and Q125. For now,...

Tracking Traffic

Cathay Pacific (293 HK, BUY, TP HK$9.90): FY23 Better than Expected, and Surprise Dividends

​Cathay Pacific exceeds profit forecast for FY23, announces surprise dividend, signaling pandemic recovery and strong market performance. Maintain...

Mohshin Aziz

APAC Airline Sector – Cost Inflation Management Differentials Crucial as Cargo Yields Normalise

Deep dive on earnings prospects of the top tier ex-China APAC full service carriers illustrates marked differences in inflation management, and...

Neil Glynn

Cathay Pacific (293 HK): Hard Landing

The recent iscrimination incident is likely to weigh on near-term traffic recovery while the increasingly possible scenario of CX becoming majority...

Osbert Tang, CFA

Our Three Best Calls in 2022: Review and Outlook for 2023

In 2023, we expect share prices of Fu Shou Yuan to continue to do well and Conch Environment to remain under pressure. For Air China, given rich...

Osbert Tang, CFA

Cathay Pacific exceeds profit forecast for FY23, announces surprise dividend, signaling pandemic recovery and strong market performance. Maintain...