Staff writer, with CNA
Starlux Airlines Co (星宇航空) yesterday announced a plan to raise funds by issuing corporate bonds as it reported turning a profit in the first quarter of this year, after posting losses in the last two quarters of last year.Starlux reported a net profit of NT$910 million (US$28.88 million) in the first quarter, or earnings per share of NT$0.3, compared with losses per share of NT$0.15 and NT$0.07 in the third and fourth quarters of last year, respectively.In the January-to-March period, Starlux generated consolidated sales of NT$13.76 billion, up 23 percent from a year earlier, with revenue generated from its passenger flight operations up 17 percent at NT$11.31 billion.
Starlux Airlines Co aircraft are pictured at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport in August last year.
In addition to benefiting from holidays in the first quarter, the US-Israeli war on Iran led some travelers to reroute through Taiwan, boosting demand, Starlux said.The average load factor — an industry metric that measures percentage of passenger capacity used — hit 87 percent in the first quarter, it said.
Starlux’s cargo revenue in the first quarter totaled NT $1.18 billion, up 28 percent from a year earlier due to robust global demand for electronics components and artificial intelligence-related devices, the company said.Some buyers shifted to air cargo services from marine services amid growing geopolitical unease, boosting demand further, it said.Meanwhile, Starlux is planning to raise funds to repay some of its loans and optimize its financial structure.The company would raise funds from the sale of NT$2 billion five-year unsecured convertible corporate bonds and issue 300 million new common shares in a rights issue, Starlux said.It said it also plans to sell three newly received A330-900 aircraft to FCB Leasing Co (一銀租賃) and Taishin D.A. Finance Co (台新大安租賃), but would retain them through a leasing arrangement.
