▲ This photo taken on Jan. 4, 2022 shows Korean Air's planes at the Incheon International Airport in Incheon, just west of Seoul. (Yonhap)

Korean Air-2021 earnings

Korean Air shifts to net profit in 2021 on cargo deals

SEOUL, Jan. 27 (Yonhap) -- Korean Air Lines Co., South Korea's biggest carrier, said Thursday it swung to a net profit last year as increased cargo deals offset a sharp decline in travel demand amid the extended COVID-19 pandemic.

Korean Air shifted to a net profit of 638.69 billion won (US$530 million) in 2021 from a net loss of 194.63 billion won a year earlier, the company said in a statement.

To ride out the unprecedented pandemic, the national flag carrier focused on winning further cargo orders over the past two years.

The won's weakness against the dollar and rising oil prices prevented the carrier from logging better earnings figures.

The dollar rose to 1,185.50 won at the end of December from 1,088.00 won a year earlier, according to the Bank of Korea.

Operating profit jumped more than six-fold to 1.46 trillion won last year from 238.34 billion won a year ago. Sales rose 18 percent to 8.75 trillion won from 7.40 trillion won during the same period.

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