EVA Airways Corp (EVA, 長榮航空), the nation’s second-largest airline, saw consolidated sales in the third quarter of the year mark their highest quarterly level in history, mainly driven by strong seasonal demand in the passenger sector, especially on Asian routes.
EVA posted NT$35.82 billion (US$1.18 billion) in consolidated revenue during the July-to-September period, up 7.76 percent from a year earlier and marking a record high, according to a company filing to the stock exchange.
Capital Securities Corp (群益證券) attributed the carrier’s sales performance to strong seasonal demand during the summer vacation, which fell in the third quarter.
“An airline’s peak period for sales in a year usually appears in July and August,” the brokerage said in a research report.
Last month, consolidated revenue dropped 15.92 percent from a month earlier to NT$10.75 billion, which is evidence that the end of the summer vacation has slowed the carrier’s sales momentum, statistics showed.
TRENDING
The nation’s largest airline, China Airlines Ltd (CAL, 中華航空), showed a similar trend in ticket sales.
The carrier saw consolidated revenue generated in the third quarter of the year of NT$39.59 billion, up 6.03 percent from a year earlier and 6.18 percent from a quarter earlier, according to a company filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange.
Consolidated sales for last month alone declined 12.92 percent from August to NT$11.93 billion, but showed 4 percent growth from the same period last year, the filing showed.
SLOWING MOMENTUM
Following the peak period of passenger business, Capital Securities said the nation’s airlines sector may see slowing momentum in sales and profitability during the last three months of the year, as aviation fuel prices have remained relatively high, with sentiment in the air cargo sector yet to show a significant rebound.
In the long run, the brokerage expressed concerns over the sector’s profitability ratio on cross-strait routes, as the introduction of more Chinese budget carriers and more balanced demand and supply may add some pressure on Taiwanese airlines.
REGIONAL
Consolidated revenue for TransAsia Airways Corp (TNA, 復興航空) — the third listed Taiwanese airline, which focuses on regional passenger business — totaled NT$3.55 billion from July to last month, up 1.72 percent from the previous year, but down 0.03 percent from the previous quarter, according to the carrier’s financial statistics.
The carrier posted NT$966.96 million in consolidated sales last month, down 8.42 percent and 17.35 percent from the previous year and month respectively, data showed.
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