The China Shipbuilding Corp (CSBC, 中船) said in a report it issued yesterday that the company currently has orders totaling more than NT$90 billion (US$2.68 billion) to build vessels.
The written report was presented by the CSBC to the Science and Technology Committee of the Legislative Yuan which is set to review the CSBC's budget for next year.
The brisk business will help the company continue its efforts to improve its financial structure and promote its privatization, the report said.
ORDERS
The CSBC said that it currently has orders worth NT$78.32 billion for building 51 commercial ships as well as orders worth NT$12.61 billion for building 30 military vessels.
It has therefore listed its post-tax profits at NT$285 million for next year, up 17.28 percent from the figure for this year, mainly because of increased business.
Following on the heels of the hot demand seen in 2003 and last year, orders for new ships reached a peak in May this year, with orders and prices for new vessels declining in the latter half of the year, the CSBC said.
MARKET RESEARCH
Looking ahead, the company said that most market research reports have not been optimistic about the period to the end of the first quarter of next year.
Following a downsizing move in 2001, the company has registered profits every month since then and the company's competitiveness is on par with Japan's and South Korea's shipbuilding industries, according to the report.
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