Korean Air operating profit falls 45% YoY in 2023 to $1.2bn

Korean Air's operating profit fell 45% year on year (YoY) in 2023 to $1.23bn from $2.88bn in 2022. Net income fell from $1.38bn in 2022 to $711 million in 2023. However, revenue did rise 8.7% YoY from $10.4bn in 2022 to $11.3bn in 2023. The airline noted that with the recovery of the air cargo industry, after the company performed strongly during the pandemic, cargo operating profit had decreased YoY. Korean Air's reported a net loss of $182 million for the fourth quarter of 2023, compared to a net income of $274.6 million in the same period of 2022. Revenue for the fourth quarter of 2023 rose 10.3% YoY from $2.79bn in 2022 to $3.08bn. Operating profit for the fourth quarter fell 64.7% YoY from $403.4 million in Q4 2022 to $142.4 million in Q4 2023. Korean Air said that it anticipates passenger demand and capacity to fully recover in the first quarter of 2024. However, the airline is uncertain over whether air cargo demand to coincide with the passenger recovery due to the weakened global economy and geopolitical risks.