Glonghui, March 14 | Lyon released a report saying that Cathay Pacific passenger traffic increased profits. The profit due to ordinary shareholders in the second half of last year was HK$5.1 billion, an increase of 29% over the first half of the year, 22% higher than the bank's forecast, and the resumption of dividends was earlier than the bank's forecast. Lyon believes that due to the correction in air ticket prices (about 10% year-on-year decline from the beginning of the year to date) and the rise in employee costs, the current attractiveness of the stock's price compared to risk and return has declined, and there are still no early signs of an improvement in freight. The bank cut Cathay Pacific's profit forecast for 2024 to 2025 by 4 to 5%. The bank kept its target price of HK$10.6 unchanged, but downgraded the rating from “buy” to “outperform the market”.