Korean Air Co., South Korea's national flag carrier, said Tuesday it had shifted to a net loss in the fourth quarter of 2023 from a year earlier due to increased operating costs.

Korean Air swung to an estimated net loss of 234.59 billion won ($176 million) in the three months ended on Dec. 31 from a net profit of 353.98 billion won a year earlier, the company said in a statement.

Operating profit likely plunged 65 percent to 183.61 billion won in the October-December period from 520.08 billion won a year ago.

Sales rose 10 percent to 3.98 trillion won in the fourth quarter from 3.61 trillion won a year earlier.

"The profit decline was mainly due to increased staff wages that include incentives for achieving annual performance and safety performance targets," the statement said.

The company expected passenger demand to fully recover in the first quarter of this year but air cargo demand for traditional items, such as semiconductors and displays, will remain uncertain due to a slowdown in the global economy.

"We will respond flexibly to the ongoing robust demand in e-commerce that has carried over from the end of last year and actively respond to supply chain uncertainties arising from global geopolitical risks," the company said.

For all of 2023, net income fell 49 percent on-year to 916.78 billion won. Operating profit sank 45 percent to 1.59 trillion won, while sales were up 8.7 percent to 14.58 trillion won. (Yonhap)