Starlux Airlines Co’s (星宇航空) net losses widened 75 percent annually to NT$5.27 billion (US$173.44 million) last year, despite its revenue increasing 322 percent to NT$3.36 billion for that year.
Net losses per share were NT$3.47, the company said on Monday.
The airline’s board of directors agreed not to distribute dividends to shareholders this year, a filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange said.
Photo: Chu Pei-hsiung, Taipei Times
Starlux, which launched its first flight in January 2020, has reported losses for three years.
It posted net losses of NT$2.41 billion for 2020 and NT$3.02 billion for 2021, Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) data showed.
Last year, Starlux continued to invest in infrastructure amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the airline said, adding that it finished construction of two facilities — an airplane maintenance center and a bonded warehouse — in preparation for a recovery in air travel.
With Taiwan relaxing border controls from October last year and demand for air passenger services rebounding, the airline’s revenue grew to NT$1.96 billion in the fourth quarter of last year, accounting for 58 percent of its total revenue last year, while net losses narrowed to NT$1.05 billion, down from NT$1.56 billion in the third quarter.
Starlux posted net losses of NT$1.21 billion in the first quarter and NT$1.45 billion in the second quarter, CAA data showed.
The airline expects revenue to increase this year as it commences flights from Taiwan to Los Angles from next month, which would help bolster its passenger and cargo businesses, it said.
With accumulated losses totaling NT$11.16 billion since its establishment in 2018, and while closely monitored by the CAA, Starlux last month announced it would raise new capital by issuing 300 million common shares, priced at NT$18 each, its regulatory filings showed.
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