The nation’s two largest airlines on Friday posted improving month-on-month revenues for last month, on the back of stronger cargo momentum.
Revenues of China Airlines Ltd (CAL, 中華航空), the nation’s largest air carrier, rose 22.35 percent from a month earlier to reach NT$11.29 billion (US$389.3 million) last month, with cargo revenues growing 80.77 percent month-on-month to NT$4.79 billion, the company said in a statement.
“The growth of revenues came from stronger cargo momentum, as more working days last month drove up cargo demand from exporters,” CAL chief financial officer Roger Han (韓梁中) said by telephone on Friday.
The stronger cargo demand also drove up last month’s revenues for EVA Airways Corp (長榮航空), the nation’s second-largest air carrier.
EVA posted NT$8.41 billion in revenues for last month, up 17.82 percent from a month earlier, with cargo revenues increasing 40.35 percent month-on-month to NT$3.43 billion, the company’s financial data showed.
EVA spokesman Nieh Kuo-wei (聶國維) said that cargo would remain the main driver of the company’s revenues in the second quarter amid stronger seasonal demand.
Han also said that CAL may be able to make reduce fuel costs amid a recent surge in the New Taiwan dollar against the US dollar.
The stocks of the two airlines both rose last week, with CAL increasing 13.1 percent from a week earlier to close at NT$19 on Friday and EVA rising 8.35 percent to close at NT$25.30, Taiwan Stock Exchange data showed.
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