"There are cost and revenue factors which have combined to make 2012 a difficult year," Cathay chief executive John Slosar said in a statement.
This year, premium traffic had been soft also due to the world economic situation, he added.
"Our top corporate customers in the financial industry are traveling more than 15 Percent less than they did the previous two years," Slosar said.
A decline in average ticket prices, which were below budget and below last year by about 4 percent, was also a problem, he added.
A global economic slowdown and high fuel prices pushed Cathay into the red in the first half of 2012. (Reuters)