Earlier, a foreign news agency quoted sources as saying that AIR CHINA (00753.HK)  +0.020 (+0.432%)    Short selling $3.90M; Ratio 26.463%   is looking into increasing its stake in CATHAY PAC AIR (00293.HK)  +0.230 (+2.576%)    Short selling $26.84M; Ratio 20.654%   . CATHAY Chairman Patrick Healy responded that the news was just market speculation with no real basis, and refused to further comment. He added that major shareholder SWIRE PACIFIC (00019.HK)  +1.300 (+1.937%)    Short selling $27.77M; Ratio 29.222%   (00087.HK)  -0.020 (-0.187%)   always maintained a firm attitude and absolute commitment to the group.

Asked whether CATHAY would re-launch the Cathay Dragon brand, which was suspended during Covid, CEO Ronald Lam said the current dual-branding strategy of Cathay Pacific and Hong Kong Express was working well and catering to different customer needs. The company had no intention of changing its strategic approach for the time being.

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CATHAY paid a final dividend of $43 cents in 2023, a resumption of dividend payments since 2019. Healy said he was grateful to shareholders and investors for their support and to the Hong Kong Government for its assistance in the face of operational difficulties during the pandemic.

CFO Rebecca Sharpe added that CATHAY is inclined to maintain its policy of paying approximately 50% of consolidated post-tax profit after non-cash exceptional items as ordinary dividends in the future. Nevertheless, the actual amount will depend on the prevailing market conditions, business development and the macroeconomic environment.

(HK stocks quote is delayed for at least 15 mins.Short Selling Data as at 2025-05-02 16:25.)

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