China Airlines Ltd (CAL, 中華航空) reported a 5 percent increase in revenue year-on-year, with the first 11 months of the year coming in at NT$115.94 billion (US$3.59 billion), a company press release said on Saturday.
The state-run airline said it expects to see a 3.5 percent growth in annual revenue next year, down 8.7 percent from last year's 12.2 percent.
Ringo Chao (趙國帥), chairman and president of the airline, said that increasing fuel costs amid rising crude oil prices -- from US$50 per barrel last year to more than US$90 per barrel this year -- had the biggest impact on the firm's profitability.
PHOTO: CNA
"With every US$1 increase in the oil price, CAL's annual operating costs increase by about NT$600 million," Chao told reporters at the company's 48th anniversary celebration on Saturday, where the firm made a NT$300,000 donation to local youth baseball teams.
However, despite increased fuel costs, Chao said CAL was confident it could achieve its revenue target this year.
CAL inked a Letter of Intent with European aircraft manufacturer Airbus for the purchase of 20 A350-900s on Dec. 11, which included 14 firm orders and 6 options, at a total cost of US$4.2 billion.
The new medium-capacity long-haul jetliners, which will be introduced from 2015 to 2020, will replace the A340-300 fleet and help expand the airline's mid-haul and long-haul services.
"There is no timetable set for signing the actual contract with Airbus," Chao said, adding that CAL did not have any new purchasing plans next year.
Chao was appointed chairman of CAL on Oct. 2 in a bid to mend the airline's tarnished image following a fire on board one of its aircraft at Naha Airport in Okinawa, Japan, on Aug. 20.
Responding to media speculation that the aircraft deal was politically motivated, CAL spokesman Bruce Chen (陳鵬宇) said: "CAL's decision to purchase Airbus aircraft was based on price, payment conditions and seating capacity."
CAL was ranked eighth in the "Airline of the Year" rankings this year, results released by Skytrax, the world's top surveyor of airline service quality, showed.
CAL shares fell NT$0.15, or 1.1 percent, to close at NT$13.85 on Friday.
Intel Corp chief executive officer Lip-Bu Tan (陳立武) is expected to meet with Taiwanese suppliers next month in conjunction with the opening of the Computex Taipei trade show, supply chain sources said on Monday. The visit, the first for Tan to Taiwan since assuming his new post last month, would be aimed at enhancing Intel’s ties with suppliers in Taiwan as he attempts to help turn around the struggling US chipmaker, the sources said. Tan is to hold a banquet to celebrate Intel’s 40-year presence in Taiwan before Computex opens on May 20 and invite dozens of Taiwanese suppliers to exchange views
Application-specific integrated circuit designer Faraday Technology Corp (智原) yesterday said that although revenue this quarter would decline 30 percent from last quarter, it retained its full-year forecast of revenue growth of 100 percent. The company attributed the quarterly drop to a slowdown in customers’ production of chips using Faraday’s advanced packaging technology. The company is still confident about its revenue growth this year, given its strong “design-win” — or the projects it won to help customers design their chips, Faraday president Steve Wang (王國雍) told an online earnings conference. “The design-win this year is better than we expected. We believe we will win
Power supply and electronic components maker Delta Electronics Inc (台達電) yesterday said it plans to ship its new 1 megawatt charging systems for electric trucks and buses in the first half of next year at the earliest. The new charging piles, which deliver up to 1 megawatt of charging power, are designed for heavy-duty electric vehicles, and support a maximum current of 1,500 amperes and output of 1,250 volts, Delta said in a news release. “If everything goes smoothly, we could begin shipping those new charging systems as early as in the first half of next year,” a company official said. The new
Quanta Computer Inc (廣達) chairman Barry Lam (林百里) is expected to share his views about the artificial intelligence (AI) industry’s prospects during his speech at the company’s 37th anniversary ceremony, as AI servers have become a new growth engine for the equipment manufacturing service provider. Lam’s speech is much anticipated, as Quanta has risen as one of the world’s major AI server suppliers. The company reported a 30 percent year-on-year growth in consolidated revenue to NT$1.41 trillion (US$43.35 billion) last year, thanks to fast-growing demand for servers, especially those with AI capabilities. The company told investors in November last year that
RSS