UBS: Give Cathay Pacific (00293) a “buy” rating with a target price of HK$14

The Zhitong Finance App learned that UBS released a research report saying that although the base figure is already high, Cathay Pacific (00293) management expects the overall financial performance of 2025 to surpass last year. Although management did not specify the extent of profit growth in FY2025, the bank believes that the forecast can be considered better than expected. Cathay Pacific's net profit last year was 9.6 billion yuan, the highest level since 2011. The target price was HK$14, and the rating was “Buy”.

UBS believes that Cathay Pacific's earnings for the 2025 fiscal year exceeded expectations, which indicates that the dividend per share may also be higher than expected. According to the company's dividend policy, approximately half of the profits (after deducting non-cash special items) will be distributed in the form of dividends. The bank also expects Cathay Pacific's stock price to respond positively to the 2025 fiscal year earnings forecast exceeding expectations, and reiterated that Cathay Pacific is one of its preferred stocks in the Asia Pacific aviation sector.