Despite being the only listed carrier in Taiwan to make profit last year, TransAsia Airways Corp (TNA, 復興航空) saw its net income in the fourth quarter last year mark the lowest level in six quarters, reflecting the negative impact after a crash in Penghu in July last year.
TNA, which primarily operates regional and cross-strait passenger routes, posted NT$304.91 million (US$9.74 million), or NT$0.55 per share, in net profit last year, the only airline to generate income among the nation’s three listed carriers, Taiwan Stock Exchange data showed.
INCOME
However, the airline saw net income during the October-to-December period last year of NT$12.58 million, or NT$0.02 per share, marking its lowest level since the second quarter in 2013, statistics showed.
“The result witnessed lower load factors and average yields after the accident happened in the third quarter of 2014,” Primasia Securities Co Ltd said in a report on Wednesday.
TNA’s operating margin turned negative to minus-0.2 percent in the fourth quarter last year, partially driven by higher insurance costs and primarily by lower load factors and yields, Primasia said.
The brokerage expected TNA to encounter some headwinds in the short term continuously after another crash in February, as the carrier’s applications for new routes have been suspended for another year, further postponing its transition plan to expand into more diversified routes.
OTHER CARRIERS
The nation’s two other listed airlines, China Airlines Ltd (CAL, 中華航空) and EVA Airways Corp (EVA, 長榮航空), both posted net losses for last year and announced that they will not be making dividend payouts this year.
CAL — the nation’s largest carrier — posted NT$751.23 million, or NT$0.14 per share, in net loss last year, better than net loss of NT$1.27 billion, or NT$0.25 per share, recorded a year earlier, the company said in its stock exchange filing.
The nation’s second-largest airline, EVA, saw net loss last year total NT$1.31 billion, or NT$0.4 per share, compared with net income of NT$747.45 million, or NT$0.23 per share, in 2013, mainly due to the recognition of its payment for the antitrust settlement in the US in the fourth quarter last year, according to a company filing with the stock exchange.
REBOUND
However, market analysts generally agreed that both CAL and EVA might see earnings momentum in the first quarter show a rebound, driven by a strong cargo recovery and a stable passenger division.
Following the global crude oil price decline from the fourth quarter last year, CAL, with its low fuel hedging, might be a major beneficiary of falling jet fuel prices, UBS Securities Pte Ltd said in a research report.
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