[Featured Stock] Korean Air Soars Over 4% Intraday on Strong Q3 Earnings

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Minji Lee] Korean Air is showing an intraday rise of over 4%.

At 9:21 AM on the 4th, Korean Air recorded 23,750 KRW, up 4.17% from the previous trading day. The highest price in the early session was 23,950 KRW. The preferred stock, Korean Air Woo, showed a sharp rise of 23.09%.

Korean Air's separate Q3 results showed sales of 3.6684 trillion KRW and operating profit of 839.2 billion KRW, representing growth of 65% and 274% respectively compared to the same period last year. Even considering the operating loss recorded by Jin Air, the operating profit significantly exceeded market expectations (638.6 billion KRW). The strong price increase effect of international passenger ships and tight supply leading to strong cargo freight rates were positive factors.

Park Sooyoung, a researcher at Hanwha Investment & Securities, said, "Although cargo sales decreased compared to the previous quarter, the reason for the profit increase was that passenger flights were added to planes that only carried cargo," adding, "The speed of cost increase due to supply growth is not expected to be steep, and even if cargo decreases somewhat, passengers can partially compensate."

Korean Air is expected to record strong performance in Q4 as well. This is based on the judgment that structural demand growth and freight rate increase effects will be reflected. Park Seongbong, a researcher at Hana Securities, explained, "From October, COVID-19 testing for overseas arrivals was abolished, so overseas travel demand in Q4 is expected to expand more sharply," adding, "For the Americas routes, the load factor is expected to exceed 80% in Q4, and Southeast Asian routes including Bangkok are currently recording high reservation rates. Recently, Japan has allowed visa-free entry for 68 countries including Korea, leading to a surge in ticket sales for Japan-bound flights."