Korean Air rules out more aid to Hanjin Shipping

[THE INVESTOR] Korean Air Lines, the largest shareholder of Hanjin Shipping, on Oct. 25 made it clear that there will be no additional aid to the cash-strapped shipper that has been put under court receivership since early this month.

“We expect no more impact from funding to Hanjin Shipping,” a Korean Air executive said during a conference call on the day.

“We will continue efforts to improve our financial structure, including issuing additional perpetual bonds.”

The remarks came after the nation’s largest flag carrier reported its record quarterly earnings in the July-September period. The company said its third-quarter operating profit surged 34.9 percent to 447.6 billion won (US$393 million) compared to a year ago.

It said the losses from its funding to Hanjin Shipping, worth a combined 825.1 billion won, have already been reflected in its earnings in the first to third quarters this year.

By Lee Ji-yoon (jylee@heraldcorp.com) anjin">jylee@heraldcorp.com)