EVA Air reports record high Q1 net profit

Taipei, May 14 (CNA) EVA Airways, one of the leading international carriers in Taiwan, on Wednesday reported its highest-ever net profit for the first quarter, citing strong demand during the Lunar New Year holiday and the winter vacation period.

In a statement, EVA Air said it posted NT$8.27 billion (US$262 million) in net profit in the January-March period, up from NT$5.93 billion a year earlier. Its first quarter earnings per share stood at NT$1.53, compared with NT$1.10 a year earlier, the airline said.

The net profit was a record for the first quarter and its second-highest quarterly figure, the company said.

Consolidated sales in the first quarter rose 10.1 percent from a year earlier to NT$60.52 billion, with revenue generated from passenger flight operations rising 10.7 percent year-on-year to NT$40.30 billion, EVA Air said.

The peak season effects in the first quarter boosted the average load factor -- an industry metric that measures percentage of passenger capacity used -- to 84.1 percent, while the number of passengers the airline handled rose 10.1 percent from a year earlier, EVA Air reported.

Revenue generated from cargo service operations rose 4.1 percent from a year earlier to NT$13.24 billion in the first quarter, the carrier said, citing robust global demand for AI servers and semiconductors amid the AI boom.

Earlier in the week, Taiwan's newest international carrier Starlux Airlines said it turned a profit in the first quarter during the peak season. The airline reported a first-quarter EPS of NT$0.3, compared with a loss per share of NT$0.15 and NT$0.07 in the third and fourth quarters of 2025, respectively.

In the report on Tuesday, Starlux said its average load factor reached 87 percent in the first quarter.

Late last week, China Airlines (CAL), another major Taiwanese carrier, said it posted an EPS of NT$0.85 in the January-March period, up from NT$0.69 a year earlier, while its consolidated sales rose to NT$56.997 billion from NT$52.772 billion a year earlier.

CAL said its latest quarterly EPS hit the second highest in the company's history.