China Airlines, EVA Air report record first half net profit

Taipei, Aug. 10 (CNA) China Airlines (CAL) and EVA Airways (EVA Air), two leading international Taiwanese carriers, have both reported their highest ever net profit for the first half of the year amid a boom in international travel and growing demand for cargo services.

In a statement Friday, CAL said its net profit in the first six months of this year hit a new high of NT$7.14 billion (US$220 million), resulting in earnings per share of NT$1.08.

The global airline industry's momentum from last year extended into the first six months of this year, and that momentum and an increase in its number of flights supported passenger revenue growth, the carrier said.

Revenue generated from passenger flights rose 17.01 percent from a year earlier to NT$64.68 billion in the January-June period, with Northeast Asia, Southeast Asia and North America the top three sources of revenue during the period, according to CAL.

CAL said cargo services were affected by high inflation, interest rate hikes and inventory adjustments in the industrial sector in the early part of the first quarter, but the situation improved in the second quarter as demand picked up, boosting freight rates.

That led to a 19.98 percent increase in cargo revenue from a year earlier in the first half of the year, the airline said.

CAL was also upbeat about its prospects in the second half and expected its number of flights to increase by 25 percent in 2024, citing strong demand for passenger flights during the summer.

Cargo services are also expected to continue to grow in the second half and with all 10 of its Boeing 777F cargo planes ordered set to join the fleet this year, the carrier said it is hoping to further capitalize on opportunities in the cargo charter flight market.

Also on Friday, EVA Air said in a statement that its net profit during the January-June period hit a record high of NT$13.38 billion, resulting in EPS of NT$2.31.

In the six-month period, revenue generated from its passenger flight division rose 17.9 percent from a year earlier to NT$72.9 billion, while its cargo services revenue rose 17.4 percent from a year earlier to NT$22.95 billion, EVA Air said.

The airline said cargo volume in the first half of the year rose 15.4 percent from a year earlier, citing growing demand for AI applications, an increase in demand for space from Chinese e-commerce operators, and port congestion, which led some vendors to ship by air rather than sea.

EVA Air also released its July sales data. It posted a 6.33 percent increase in consolidated sales from the same month a year earlier to NT$19.88 billion after summer vacation travel boosted its load factor to almost 90 percent.

At the same time, demand for AI servers and chips and ongoing demand from Chinese e-commerce operators pushed up its cargo service revenue, the carrier said.

Meanwhile, Taiwan's third international carrier, Starlux Airlines took another step toward being listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE) along with EVA Air and China Airlines.

Its shares are currently traded on the emerging market, but the TWSE announced earlier this week that it has approved Starlux's application to list its shares on the exchange, which Starlux said it intended to do by the end of this year.

Starlux turned a profit for the first time in 2023, when it posted a net profit of NT$149 million and EPS of NT$0.08. In the first quarter of this year, its net profit totaled NT$620 million, and it had EPS of NT$0.3, beating the figures for all of 2023.

The carrier has not reported its first half earnings yet, but its consolidated sales for the six months rose 65 percent from a year earlier to NT$16.33 billion, boosted by growing revenue from both passenger flights and cargo services.

In Taiwan, a company is required to list its shares on the emerging market for at least six months before applying for a listing to the over-the-counter market or the main exchange.