Oct 31 --Evergreen Marine Corporation earned a net profit of NT$40.5m (US$1.2m), up from a net loss of NT$1.16bn (US$34.8m) in the second quarter this year, when soaring fuel costs hit hard.

Although the Taiwan-listed carrier's third quarter results have greatly improved over Q2, most probably helped by the peak season effect, the year-on-year result comparison remains poor.

Evergreen's Q3 profit this year was down 98.8% from a net profit of NT$3.5bn (US$105m), according to ci-online's calculations based on a company statement.

A company executive told Reuters that "Increasing capacity, higher fuel costs and also increases in US intermodal transport costs have had an impact on the company's results.

"To just break even this year would be good enough," the executive added.

Weak profits also contributed to the firm's investment in EVA Airways, which lost NT$2.32bn (US$69.7m) in the first nine months. Evergreen currently holds around one-third of EVA's shareholding.

Sixty-per cent of Evergreen's sales came from the transpacific trade, while the remainder was equally contributed between the Asia-Europe and intra-Asia trades.

The Q3 figures in this article were calculated by deducting the six-month figures from the nine-month figures stated in the company's announcement; while the Q2 figures in this article were calculated by deducting the company's Q1 figures from its interim results.