Cathay Financial reports Q4 losses of NT$2 billion

Cathay Financial Holding Co (國泰金控), Taiwan's biggest financial services company by market value, posted a fourth-quarter loss after writedowns for subprime investments and provisions for stock losses.

The net loss at the Taipei-based company, which owns Taiwan's largest life insurer, was NT$2.18 billion (US$67 million), compared with a NT$2.46 billion loss a year earlier. Earnings were calculated by subtracting the company's nine-month results from unaudited full-year figures released in a statement today. Lee Chang-ken (李長庚), Cathay executive vice president, couldn't be reached for comment.

Cathay's earnings could be threatened this year as consumers and businesses in the US, Taiwan's second-largest export market, cut spending because of the spreading housing slump.

"Its profit this year may be lower than last year's because of a subprime-triggered slowing global economy and an expected volatile stock market," said Parker Wu, a fund manager at Agricultural Bank of Taiwan (台灣農業金庫), who helps manage the equivalent of US$150 million in Taipei.

Cathay Financial said full-year profit almost tripled to NT$30.9 billion, based on unaudited figures, from an audited NT$10.7 billion a year earlier. The company is scheduled to release a full, audited report before the end of April.

Wu also expected Cathay Financial to take fourth-quarter losses on stock investments. The benchmark Taiex index fell 10.4 percent in the fourth quarter as the US subprime crisis slowed the global economy and investors were cautious about uncertainties before elections for the island's legislature on Jan. 12 and president on March 22.

Shares of Cathay Financial, which have risen 0.6 percent this year, fell 2.9 percent to close at NT$68 just before the earnings announcement.

Fubon Financial Holding Co (富邦金控), Taiwan's second-largest financial services company by market value, also swung to a loss in the fourth-quarter on writedowns for subprime investments and provisions for bad loans.

The Taipei-based company, which owns Taiwan's largest non-life insurer, lost NT$765 million after a profit of NT$3.18 billion a year earlier. The earnings were derived by subtracting nine-month profit from full-year figures the company released in a statement to Taiwan's stock exchange today.

Fubon's profit last year jumped to NT$14 billion, based on unaudited figures, compared with NT$8.4 billion a year earlier.

Taiwan's banks recovered last year from a surge in defaults on credit-card loans that crimped earnings the previous two years. Banks wrote off NT$58.3 billion of credit-card debt in the first 11 months of last year, about 54 percent of the amount in the same period in 2006, according to the Financial Supervisory Commission.

Elsewhere, Mega Financial Holding Co (兆豐金控) said its profit rose 12 percent to NT$18 billion last year. Hua Nan Financial Holdings Co (華南金控) posted a 15 percent gain last year profit to NT$9.15 billion. First Financial Holding Co (第一金控) said its profit rose 21 percent to NT$12.9 billion last year.