Korean Air net losses deepen in 2019 on weak won

SEOUL, Feb. 6 (Yonhap) -- Korean Air Lines Co., South Korea's biggest airline, said Thursday its net losses deepened in 2019 from a year earlier due to a weak won and lower demand.

Korean Air's net losses widened to 624.87 billion won (US$529 million) last year from 185.65 billion won a year earlier, the company said in a statement.

"Foreign-exchange losses resulting from the won's weakness against the dollar cut into the bottom line," the statement said.

The won fell to an average of 1,157.80 against the dollar at the end of 2019 from 1,118.10 at end-2018, according to the Bank of Korea. A weak won drives up an airline's jet fuel purchasing costs and the value of dollar-denominated debts.

Operating profit plunged 59 percent to 261.95 billion won in 2019 from 640.29 billion won the year before. Sales fell 2.5 percent to 12.69 trillion won from 13.02 trillion won during the same period, it said.

"A sharp decline in travel demand on Japanese and Hong Kong routes and decreasing cargo-carrying volumes amid a slowing global economy weighed on the annual results," the company said.

kyongae.choi@yna.co.kr
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