Green Energy Technology Inc (綠能科技), the nation's biggest solar wafer supplier, yesterday posted record high earnings for last year and a higher-than-expected cash dividend, helped by large-scale capacity expansion and recovery from a factory fire.
The solar wafer supplier's net income amounted to NT$620 million (US$20.4 million), or NT$7.41 per share last year Taipei-based Green Energy said in a statement yesterday.
growth
This represents a 15 percent growth from NT$539 million, or NT$6.65 a share, in 2006.
Green Energy shares jumped 6.03 percent, or NT$9.5, to NT$167 yesterday after the company reported the rosy financial results and respectable dividend, out-performing the benchmark TAIEX, which fell 0.59 percent. Trading volume increased to its highest level in more than a month to 1.46 million Green Energy shares.
In addition, Green Energy plans to raise its cash dividend to NT$4.5 per share for its earnings last year, compared to NT$0.8 per share for 2006.
Yesterday the board also approved the plan to pay NT$4.5 per share in cash and 100 shares for every 1,000 owned based on its earnings last year, the company's statement said.
That will mean a dividend yield of 3.3 percent, compared to the stock's closing price of NT$167 yesterday.
revenues
The company's revenues more than doubled to NT$5 billion for the full 12 months of last year, compared to NT$2.01 billion in 2006, as Green Energy almost doubled its capacity to 110 megawatts last year, from 65 megawatts in 2006 after increasing its number of furnaces to 80 from 46.
A recovery from an explosion in a factory in Taoyuan in late December 2006 helped boost the company's gross margin, a spokesman said.
Last week, Green Energy said it had signed solar wafer supply contracts worth US$990 million with five solar cell manufacturers in Taiwan and Asia for an eight-year term ending in 2015.
The company also said last week that it had signed two contracts worth a combined value of US$260 million with South Korea's DC Chemical Co Ltd.
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