The airline posted an operating revenue of 2,897.6 billion KRW for the fourth quarter, up 12.4% compared to the same period last year, due to the growth of international passenger business and in particular increased passenger volume on short-haul international routes. Operating profit reached 188.8 billion KRW, an increase of 22.6% compared to Q4 2009. International passenger and cargo businesses remained the major revenue contributors for the airline in Q4, accounting for half and 33.1% of the operating revenue respectively.
For the full year of 2010, the airline recorded an operating revenue of 11,459.2 billion KRW, up 22.0% year-on-year, and operating profit of 1,119.2 billion KRW, a surge of 7.39 times, thanks to the overall recovery of the aviation industry in the year under review and the significant rebound of the international passenger business. Net income for the full year returned to the black and reached 468.4 billion KRW, compared to a loss of 98.9 billion KRW in 2009.
Cargo Business
Revenue generated from the cargo segment reached 960billion KRW, up 1.9% Y-o-Y in the fourth quarter. Demand for cargo services worldwide rose steadily as reflected in an improvement in capacity (up 1.8% to 3,235 million AFTK) and traffic (up 1.7% to 2,449 million FTK). The increased cargo traffic was recorded in the industry's traditional peak season which coincided with the festive season, while the increase of Korea's outbound cargo traffic of auto parts and machineries fueled the growth in this segment. Transit cargo traffic, especially from Europe and SE Asian regions, also recorded an increase during the period under review.
