Korean Air's losses widen in Q1 on virus impact

SEOUL, May 15 (Yonhap) -- Korean Air Lines Co., South Korea's biggest carrier, said Friday its first-quarter net losses deepened from a year earlier due to the impact of the coronavirus on the airline industry.

Net losses widened to 736.86 billion won (US$598 million) for the three months that ended in March from a loss of 116.95 billion won in the year-ago period, the company said in a statement.

"Suspended flights on international routes amid virus fears and the won's weakness against the U.S. dollar that drove up the value of foreign debt cut into the quarterly results," a company spokeswoman said over the phone.

The national flag carrier has gradually suspended more than 90 percent of its flights on international routes since March as an increasing number of countries closed their borders or imposed entry restrictions on incoming passengers.

It shifted to an operating loss of 82.79 billion won in the first quarter from an operating profit of 230.81 billion won a year ago. Sales fell 22 percent to 2.43 trillion won from 3.13 trillion won during the same period, the statement said.

kyongae.choi@yna.co.kr
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