Yulon Motor Co announces plunge in profits for 2006

Yulon Motor Co (裕隆汽車), one of the nation's major carmakers, yesterday announced a plunge in its profits for last year, saying it had suffered as a result of lackluster market sentiment.

Yulon is the manufacturing arm of Yulon Nissan Motor Co (裕隆日產), a joint venture set up with Japan's Nissan Motor Corp in October 2003 to promote Nissan cars in Taiwan.

Earnings

The company's pre-tax earnings last year were NT$3.94 billion (US$119 million), down from NT$6.01 billion the previous year. Revenues were NT$27.07 billion, down from NT$41.13 billion, the company said in a filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange.

Yulon had hoped to post profits of NT$5 billion and NT$46.07 billion in revenues.

The discouraging figures are in line with the local car market, which saw sales plunging 29 percent to 366,311 units last year, statistics compiled by the Ministry of Transportation and Communications showed.

Dividends

Yulon also announced that it would distribute dividends of NT$1 for last year, which includes a NT$0.85 cash dividend and a NT$0.15 stock dividend.

The company foresees better business prospects this year, thanks to its new initiative to export locally assembled cars to overseas markets.

Yulon will export 5,000 vehicles to markets outside Asia in the second half of the year, which will help generate sales worth NT$2.5 billion, Yulon president Chen Kuo-rong (陳國榮) said.

Shares of Yulon rose 1.08 percent to close at NT$37.55 yesterday.