Thai Airways misses cost-cutting target, but expects to return to annual profit: CFO

Bangkok

THAI Airways International Pcl is likely to miss its annual cost-reduction target, but lower fuel costs will swing it to a profit for 2016 after three straight years of losses, a top company executive said on Monday.

The flag carrier is one of several state-controlled firms undergoing reform in the country since the military seized power in May 2014. Over the past two years, it has cut unprofitable routes, while a plunge in oil prices has provided it a tailwind by lowering its single-biggest expense - jet fuel. However, it has fallen short of its target to cut expenses by 10 per cent for the year as "cost reduction plans have not been fully implemented", Thai Airways' chief financial officer, Narongchai Wongthanavimok, said. The company's total operating expenses fell by 7.9 per cent over the first nine months of the year, he said.