A rebound in the cargo business for China Airlines Ltd (CAL, 中華航空) together with steady passenger loads has helped the airline buck the trend and increase its consolidated sales last month from October.
CAL, the nation’s largest airline, posted NT$11.86 billion (US$400 million) in sales last month, 6.26 percent higher than in the same month a year earlier and 0.34 percent higher than in October, the company said in a stock exchange filing.
CAL’s sales in the first 11 months of the year reached NT$128.27 billion, which is 0.07 percent higher than for the same period last year, statistics showed.
A rebound in the cargo business was the major driver for sales last month, CAL chairman Sun Hung-hsiang (孫洪祥) said, adding that the company felt momentum in the cargo business last month, following the launch of new electronic products.
The passenger sector business also remained steady this year, with the volume of Taiwan’s outbound tourists continuing to grow and support local airline sales, Sun added.
The nation’s second-largest carrier, EVA Airways Corp (EVA, 長榮航空), saw consolidated sales last month decrease from October on weaker seasonal demand within the passenger sector.
EVA’s revenue stood at NT$10.27 billion last month, up 4.39 percent from a year earlier, but down 6.21 percent from a month earlier, according to the company’s data.
For the first 11 months of the year, consolidated sales totaled NT$113.83 billion, an increase of 3.58 percent from the same period last year, company data showed.
Following a decline in global crude oil prices last month, brokerage house Capital Securities Corp (群益證券) said local airlines may enjoy lower aviation fueling costs this month, which may help to strengthen their profitability this quarter.
However, Capital Securities maintained a more pessimistic outlook for TransAsia Airways Corp (TNA, 復興航空) compared with EVA and CAL.
“The carrier’s focus on its regional passenger business in Asia means that aviation fuel represent a lower proportion of its overall costs,” the brokerage house said in a research note.
However, TNA’s profitability this quarter may be stronger than expected, following the company’s announcement on Monday that it may gain NT$600 million in non-operating income from state compensation over a legal case with the Ministry of National Defense.
TNA saw its consolidated sales reach NT$974.71 million last month, up 19.18 percent from a year earlier, but down 7.43 percent from October, company statistics showed.
From January to November, consolidated revenue totaled NT$11.26 billion, up 22.89 percent from a year ago, driven by the company’s move to launch several new routes in the first three quarters, according to TNA’s data.
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