Chunghwa to meet target
Chunghwa Telecom Co (中華電信) said yesterday it expects to meet its full-year net profit target after results for the first nine months of the year came showed earnings largely on track.
Chunghwa Telecom said net profit totalled NT$36.41 billion (US$1.07 billion) for the nine months to last month or 84.97 percent of its full-year forecast.
The outcome, however, was down 1.65 percent from the same period of last year when net profit was NT$37.02 billion, with the downturn attributed to higher costs.
Sales rose to NT$133.91 billion from NT$131.95 billion.
The company said that to ensure it meets its net profit forecast for this year of NT$42.84 billion on sales of NT$177.48 billion it will crack down on costs.
ProMOS forecasting profit
ProMOS Technologies Inc (茂德科技), the nation's second-largest maker of computer-memory chips, dumped its pretax loss forecast this year for profit of NT$361 million (US$10.6 million).
The company in May forecast a full-year loss of NT$1.2 billion. ProMOS raised its sales expectation this year to NT$23.4 billion from N$22.3 billion, the company said in a statement to the Taiwan stock exchange.
Delta Electronics profits rise
Delta Electronics Inc (台達電子), the world's biggest maker of power-supply systems for electronic products, said profit in the first nine months rose 24 percent from the same period a year earlier.
Net income rose to NT$4.1 billion (US$121 million) from NT$3.3 billion a year ago, the company said in a statement.
Chi Mei to boost output
Chi Mei Optoelectronics Corp (奇美電子), the nation's second-biggest maker of flat-panel displays, said it plans to spend US$9 billion over about five years on three plants that will make flat screens used in televisions.
"The land has been reserved in Taiwan," finance manager Eddie Chen (陳彥松) said, confirming a Chinese-language newspaper report.
The company is building a plant that will be equipped next year with so-called 5.5-generation equipment that can make TV panels measuring 30 inches diagonally and larger.
The second plant will use seventh-generation equipment, and the Tainan-based company hasn't decided on what gear the third plant will use.
Chi Mei on Tuesday sold an extra US$63.7 million of shares overseas, increasing the size of its global depositary receipt sale to US$637 million, arranger J.P. Morgan Chase & Co said.
The company sold an additional 5 million global depositary receipts at US$12.74 each to meet extra demand, the arranger said.
Bank merger approved
The Ministry of Finance has approved the merger of Chinatrust Commercial Bank (中國信託銀行) and Grand Commercial Bank (萬通銀行) as part of its efforts to streamline the financial services industry, a ministry statement said yesterday.
Both banks are units of Chinatrust Financial Holding Co (中信金控), the statement said, with Chinatrust Commercial Bank being the surviving entity.
The new bank, with 101 branches and offices nationwide, will have total assets of more than NT$1 trillion (US$29.41 billion).
The merger is scheduled to be completed on Jan. 21 next year.
NT dollar strengthens
The New Taiwan dollar continued its upward movement against its US counterpart, rising NT$0.043 to close at NT$33.945 on the Taipei foreign exchange market.
Turnover was US$437 million .
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