A total of 960 companies listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE) enjoyed an average 15 percent sales growth in 2021 from a year earlier, with the transportation sector leading the way, the exchange said Tuesday.
In a statement, the TWSE said the 960 companies, including 78, incorporated overseas but with a primary listing in Taiwan, posted NT$38.16 trillion (US$1.38 trillion) in sales in 2021, up 15.19 percent from a year earlier.
The transportation sector posted the highest growth at a time when freight rates rose in the wake of a lack of delivery capacity amid serious port congestion caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
In addition, cargo flights were in demand as Taiwanese airlines’ sought additional revenue to offset the impact of a fall in demand for passenger flights.
The transportation sector, where many shipping companies are traded, generated NT$1.49 trillion in sales, up 83.42 percent from a year earlier, with 20 shipping firms seeing a rise in sales and only three suffering declines.
Evergreen Marine Corp., the largest container cargo shipper in Taiwan, registered NT$489.40 billion in sales in 2021, up 136.1 percent from a year earlier, and rival Yang Ming Marine Transport Corp. posted NT$334.48 billion in sales for the year, up 120.22 percent after December revenue hit a new high of NT$35.11 billion.
China Airlines generated NT$138.85 billion in revenue in 2021, up 20.25 percent from a year earlier with about NT$100 billion coming from air cargo services.
According to CAL, it was the best year in 62 years for the carrier’s air cargo services, with it providing 120 cargo flights a week on average with a fleet of 21 cargo planes.
For its part, EVA Airways, which owns eight cargo planes, posted NT$103.87 billion in sales in 2021, up 16.65 percent after December sales soared 71.30 percent from a year earlier to NT$12.37 billion, with a record high of NT$10.99 billion generated by its air cargo services.
Many suppliers resorted to air cargo services as severe port congestion stranded ships so the two leading international carriers of Taiwan delivered a wide range of goods including pet food, dumbbells, luxury bags, auto parts and semiconductors.
In 2021, the steel sector came second in terms of sales growth after posting NT$1.05 trillion in revenue, up 48.13 percent from a year earlier, ahead of the plastics sector, which generated NT$1.37 trillion in sales, up 46.61 percent.
Many tech heavyweights posted record sales figures in 2021. Among them, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., the world’s largest contract chipmaker, posted NT$1.59 trillion in consolidated sales, up 18.5 percent from a year earlier on the back of robust global demand for emerging technologies such as 5G applications, high performance computing devices and automotive electronics.
In addition, Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., the world’s largest contract electronics maker, generated NT$5.94 trillion in sales in 2021, representing a better than expected increase of 10.86 percent from a year earlier as demand for smart electronics devices remained strong.
Bucking the upturn, the tourism sector, which felt the impact of tight border controls amid COVID-19, suffered a year-on-year 10.03 percent decline in sales which totaled NT$63.7 billion, the TWSE said.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel