China Airlines Ltd (CAL, 中華航空) yesterday said it expects to end this year in the black and recover from accumulated losses during the first half, helped by the peak season in the final quarter.
“We are upbeat on the third-quarter results; earnings could reach about NT$3 billion [US$99.1 million],” CAL chairman Ho Nuan-hsuan (何煖軒) said on the sidelines at an Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) conference in Taipei.
The projected earnings for the last quarter represented a 70.45 percent growth from the net profit of NT$1.76 billion registered in the April-to-June quarter.
Ho said that the company’s NT$1.76 billion earnings in the second quarter would have been much higher if not for asset impairment charges incurred, as the company is selling aircraft as part of its fleet replacement plan.
The company reported a net loss of NT$1.9 billion at the end of the first half of the year after posting a net loss of NT$3.76 billion in the first quarter. Losses per share were NT$0.37 in the first six months.
Load factors have been favorable this month, in line with high-season expectations in the fourth quarter, Ho said.
Meanwhile, the carrier in December is to launch a service to London, and another to Ontario International Airport in California, Ho said, adding that it is in talks with Air France about adding flights to European cities.
CAL shares rose 0.82 percent to close at NT$12.3 in Taipei trading yesterday, outperforming the TAIEX, which gained 0.06 percent.
The AAPA conference brought 16 member airlines across Asia to Taipei, Ho said.
CAL has made great strides in its fleet replacement plan, adding 10 new Boeing 777 and 14 Airbus A350-900 planes since September last year, Ho added.
The conference also bolstered CAL’s ties with aircraft manufacturers, which it had formed partnerships with to help develop its own maintenance capabilities, he said.
In light of rising competition in the sector, Asian airlines are working toward closer collaboration with their peers to ensure sustainable profitability across the region.
International Air Transport Association head Alexandre de Juniac said the Asia-Pacific region is facing challenges amid growing demand for air travel, and there is room for improvement in airport upgrades and air traffic management.
“We are headed for a major infrastructure crisis,” De Juniac said at the conference. “In many ways the Asia-Pacific region is ahead of the game, with major hubs having robust expansion plans, but there are challenges.”
Bangkok, Manila and Jakarta are among the airports that need major upgrades, while China’s air traffic management is struggling to cope with growth, De Juniac said.
China has not yet been able to replicate its success in building airports to come up with solutions on air traffic management, he added.
Additional reporting by CNA
The DBS Foundation yesterday announced the launch of two flagship programs, “Silver Motion” and “Happier Caregiver, Healthier Seniors,” in partnership with CCILU Ltd, Hondao Senior Citizens’ Welfare Foundation and the Garden of Hope Foundation to help Taiwan face the challenges of a rapidly aging population. The foundation said it would invest S$4.91 million (US$3.8 million) over three years to foster inclusion and resilience in an aging society. “Aging may bring challenges, but it also brings opportunities. With many Asian markets rapidly becoming super-aged, the DBS Foundation is working with a regional ecosystem of like-minded partners across the private, public and people sectors
BREAKTHROUGH TECH: Powertech expects its fan-out PLP system to become mainstream, saying it can offer three-times greater production throughput Chip packaging service provider Powertech Technology Inc (力成科技) plans to more than double its capital expenditures next year to more than NT$40 billion (US$1.31 billion) as demand for its new panel-level packaging (PLP) technology, primarily used in chips for artificial intelligence (AI) applications, has greatly exceeded what it can supply. A significant portion of the budget, about US$1 billion, would be earmarked for fan-out PLP technology, Powertech told investors yesterday. Its heavy investment in fan-out PLP technology over the past 10 years is expected to bear fruit in 2027 after the technology enters volume production, it said, adding that the tech would
YEAR-END BOOST: The holiday shopping season in the US and Europe, combined with rising demand for AI applications, is expected to drive exports to a new high, the NDC said Taiwan’s business climate monitor improved last month, transitioning from steady growth for the first time in five months, as robust global demand for artificial intelligence (AI) products and new iPhone shipments boosted exports and corporate sales, the National Development Council (NDC) said yesterday. The council uses a five-color system to measure the nation’s economic state, with “green” indicating steady growth, “red” suggesting a boom and “blue” reflecting a recession. “Yellow-red” and “yellow-blue” suggest a transition to a stronger or weaker condition. The total score of the monitor’s composite index rose to 35 points from a revised 31 in August, ending a four-month
RUN IT BACK: A succesful first project working with hyperscalers to design chips encouraged MediaTek to start a second project, aiming to hit stride in 2028 MediaTek Inc (聯發科), the world’s biggest smartphone chip supplier, yesterday said it is engaging a second hyperscaler to help design artificial intelligence (AI) accelerators used in data centers following a similar project expected to generate revenue streams soon. The first AI accelerator project is to bring in US$1 billion revenue next year and several billion US dollars more in 2027, MediaTek chief executive officer Rick Tsai (蔡力行) told a virtual investor conference yesterday. The second AI accelerator project is expected to contribute to revenue beginning in 2028, Tsai said. MediaTek yesterday raised its revenue forecast for the global AI accelerator used
RSS