Loss-hit Asian airlines rush to cut assets for faster turnarounds

Asia's major airlines are restructuring their operations and bolstering their finances to smooth the way for a return to profitability or at least gain some resilience amid a pandemic that shows no sign of letting up. In the latest batch of financial results released through last week, most of the region's largest airlines by market value reported big net losses for the July-September quarter, with Singapore Airlines reporting a record loss of S$2.34b dollars ($1.73b). The red ink has wiped out shareholders' equity and forced Singapore Airlines and other operators to go to their investors for capital infusions. As a result, total shareholders' equity at 10 major airlines from Japan and China to Southeast Asia and India declined by about $8b from a year earlier. Garuda Indonesia, which in June sank into negative net worth, logged a net loss of some $360m for the quarter, further weakening its financial position. THAI also dropped into negative net worth as of that month. In Japan, ANA Holdings, which suffered a quarterly loss of 79.6b yen ($770m), and Japan Airlines, hit by a Y67.5b, revealed earnings projections for the current fiscal year ending March. ANA expects a record net loss of 510 billion yen, while Japan Airlines is projecting a net loss of between Y240b to Y270b. JAL has not recorded a net loss since relisting in 2012. Story has more background. Meanwhile, Chinese airlines are leading the way to recovery. China Southern returned to a net profit of 711m yuan ($108m) in the July-September quarter on the back of robust domestic passenger demand.<br/>