Korean Air net loss widens, but operating profit soars

South Korea's largest carrier Korean Air reported Thursday an increased net loss last year as a stronger US dollar inflated the value of its foreign-denominated debts.
At the same time, the airline saw its operating profit rise dramatically, helped by a recovery in the global air cargo industry, falling oil prices and cost-cutting.
Annual net loss in 2014 rose to 458 billion won $413 million) from 384 billion won a year earlier, the airline said. Sales were up 0.5 percent to 11.9 trillion won.
Korean Air currently has $8.25 billion in dollar-denominated debt, which has become costlier to maintain as the greenback has gained in value over the Korean won
Operating profit stood at 395 billion won for the year, compared to a loss of 19.6 billion won in 2013.
The company said it expected earnings to improve this year on lower fuel costs.
Fourth-quarter operating profit was 152.9 billion won, up from 17.8 billion won a year before.