Cathay Pacific Airways: 1H26 in-Line with Prelims; Management Remain Cautiously Optimistic

Research evidence excerpt

M

Update

August 5, 2026 05:02 AM GMT

Cathay Pacific Airways | Asia Pacific

Morgan Stanley Asia Limited+

Qianlei Fan, CFA

Equity Analyst

1H26 in-Line with Prelims;

Management Remain Cautiously

Optimistic

Key Takeaways

Narrowed loss from HK Express contributed to consolidated recurring OP

growth. Cathay's recurring segment profit was +3% YoY.

Evan Chen

Research Associate

Cathay Pacific Airways (0293.HK, 293 HK)

Hong Kong/China Transportation & Infrastructure | Hong

Kong

YoY, vs. prelims range HK$6-6.5bn. Operating profit was HK$6.6bn, +11.3% YoY.

Stock Rating

Industry View

Price target

Up/downside to price target (%)

Shr price, close (Aug 4, 2026)

52-Week Range

Sh out, dil, curr (mn)

Mkt cap, curr (mn)

EV, curr (mn)

Avg daily trading value (mn)

Diluted EPS was +81.6% YoY thanks to share repurchases. Interim dividend per

Fiscal Year Ending

share is HK$0.26, +30% YoY, implying 1.8% yield on its previous close price.

EPS (HK$)**

1.68

1.89

1.86

2.05

Prior EPS (HK$)**

Revenue, net (HK$ mn) 116,766 139,047 140,558 147,718

EBITDA (HK$ mn)

26,166 27,044 27,181 29,149

ModelWare net inc (HK 10,443 11,475 11,286 12,437

$ mn)

P/E

8.0

7.6

7.8

7.0

P/BV

1.4

1.3

1.2

1.1

RNOA (%)

11.1

12.3

12.6

12.1

ROE (%)

19.6

18.9

16.9

17.1

EV/EBITDA

5.1

5.3

5.2

Leverage (EOP) (%)

76.9

54.4

58.7

61.8

Div yld (%)

5.8

6.4

7.1

In addition, turnaround of associate income, and lower net finance cost also

supported its recurring net profit growth.

DPS to grow by 30% YoY.

Cathay announced 1H26 net profit to ordinary shareholders of HK$6.24bn, +71.0%

Revenue for the group was HK$68.1bn in 1H26, +25.3% YoY:

• Pax revenue was +27% YoY, with Cathay's RPK +15% YoY and pax yield +9%

YoY.

• Cargo revenue was +23% YoY, cargo yield +18% YoY.

Cathay's cost ex fuel per ATK was +5.2% YoY. Fuel hedging gain was HK$878mn in

1H26, vs. HK$218mn loss in 1H25:

• Maintenance cost was +31.5% YoY.

• Fuel cost +58.5% YoY, driven by a 53.2% increase in the average jet fuel price

and a 9.0% increase in fuel consumption.

Overweight

In-Line

HK$16.90

17

HK$14.40

HK$14.86-10.34

7,020

HK$101,092

HK$147,911

HK$148

12/25 12/26e 12/27e 12/28e

Unless otherwise noted, all metrics are based on Morgan Stanley ModelWare

framework

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