Most companies in the tourism sector saw their revenues recover in the first quarter of the year and are looking at a continued improvement in business as the world emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Lion Travel Service Co (雄獅旅行社), one of the nation’s major travel agencies, yesterday said that its net profit recovered to NT$93.08 million (US$3.03 million) in the first quarter, from a net loss of NT$171.7 million a year earlier, with earnings per share (EPS) of NT$1.08.
Last quarter’s profit was the highest since the second quarter of 2019 and ended 11 consecutive quarters of losses.
Photo courtesy of Lion Travel Service Co
That came as the company’s revenue increased more than 500 percent to NT$3.29 billion last quarter, from NT$546.28 million a year earlier, while non-operating expenses fell from NT$21.14 million to NT$3.59 million over the period, the company said in a regulatory filing.
Lion Travel’s upward momentum continued last month thanks to fast-growing demand for business travel, with revenue rising 30.97 percent monthly and 901.06 percent annually to NT$1.55 billion, the highest since March 2020.
However, Phoenix Tours International Inc (鳳凰國際旅行社) posted a net loss of NT$8.93 million in the first quarter, even though revenue surged by 1,511.22 percent year-on-year to NT$351.7 million.
Phoenix Tours’ net loss per share was NT$0.12 last quarter, compared with EPS of NT$0.06 a year earlier, which the company blamed on non-operating expenses.
The company said that its overseas travel business has recovered to 70 percent of pre-pandemic levels and would fare better as the high season approaches.
Demand for long-distance trips to Europe and the US would pick up during the summer vacation, Phoenix Tours added.
In the hospitality sector, Formosa International Hotels Corp (FIH, 晶華國際酒店集團) reported that net profit last quarter soared 43.8 percent annually to NT$361 million, with EPS of NT$2.84, a record high for the period.
The group, which operates the Regent Taipei (台北晶華), Silks Place (晶英), Wellspring by Silks (晶泉丰旅) and Just Sleep (捷絲旅) hotel brands, as well as independent restaurants, said that loosened border restrictions at home and abroad enabled international business and leisure travel to return to normal, bolstering its sales.
First-quarter revenue expanded 22.39 percent annually to NT$1.74 billion, higher than the NT$1.68 billion reported in 2019 before the pandemic, FIH said.
It said it expects its food and beverage business to benefit from Mother’s Day celebrations, the Dragon Boat Festival, graduation gatherings and the summer vacation.
Restaurant chain operator TTFB Co (瓦城泰統集團) reported that its net profit grew more than twofold to NT$149 million during the January-to-March period, with EPS of NT$4.84 per share, better than its showing for the whole of last year.
TTFB, which operates 140 restaurants under Thai Town (瓦城), Shann Rice Bar (時時香), 1010 Hunan Cuisine (1010湘) and other brands, said that it would postpone entering the US market from the third quarter of this year to the second quarter of next year, due to a lack of personnel.
It said it needs more time for to adjust its menu and to ensure a stable supply of ingredients.
A successful entry in the US market would enable TTFB to expand rapidly to 100 outlets in 2030, analysts said.
TTFB said that it has emerged unscathed from inflationary pressures as evidenced by its high gross margin of 52.95 percent and operating margin of 12.68 percent in the first quarter.
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