CAL, EVA Encounter Sluggish February Sales

Taipei, March 11, 2011 (CENS)--Due to the decline in passenger and cargo transportation, Taiwan's two leading air carriers, namely China Airlines Ltd. (CAL) and EVA Airways Corp., suffered sluggish sales in February.

CAL and EVA posted revenues of NT$9.224 billion and NT$7.138 billion, respectively, in February, down 16.46% and 17% from the previous month and hitting the first monthly decline since October 2009. Institutional investors believed both companies will see sales surge in March because of the anticipated recovery of the air passenger transportation market.

CAL registered NT$6.186 billion in sales from passenger flight operation in February, down 10% from January's NT$6.852 billion. The company scored income of NT$2.652 billion from cargo flight business, down a whopping 30% from the previous month.

EVA saw passenger transportation revenue reach NT$4.258 billion in February, down 16% from a month earlier. The company's cargo transport revenue shrank 20% from January to NT$2.446 billion in February.

A market analyst attributed the lower-than-expected sales from passenger flights to domestic people reluctant to go abroad, including those going to China, in February because of the short Chinese New Year holidays.

The sluggish revenue from cargo flights in February can be attributed to the lackluster demand for electronic products that are mainly shipped by air.

Although the passenger transportation will recover in March, both companies have to rely on the export performance of the electronics industry to recover their income from cargo flights. In general, both airline firms anticipated they will see sales growth in March from the previous month.