Market flat after rally
Shares closed flat in Taipei yesterday as investors were reluctant to buy after a strong rally in the previous session, dealers said.
The weighted index closed down 1.66 points, or 0.02 percent, at 7,024.58 on turnover of NT$99.92 billion (US$3.24 billion).
A total of 27 stocks closed limit-up, while 40 were limit-down. Gainers led decliners 1,095 to 938, with 449 unchanged.
SinoPac buy rating retained
Citigroup yesterday retained its buy rating on SinoPac Financial Holdings Co (永豐金控) on attractive valuations that were expected to see the shares trading at an estimated price-to-earnings ratio of nine next year, despite the fact the company reported losses of NT$1.227 billion in the first half of this year.
On Wednesday, SinoPac Financial reported a NT$740 million profit for the second quarter, reversing a NT$2 billion net loss in the first quarter.
SinoPac Financial chief executive Mckinney Tsai (蔡友才) has vowed to put the company back in the black by the end of this year through the enhancement of risk control and its management and by targeting corporate businesses, in an attempt to cut its operating ratio from 67.58 percent to 50 percent.
The Citigroup report, authored by Bradford Ti (鄭溫煌), said SinoPac Financial’s “future upside depends on [its] ROE [return on equity] improvement and [the] possibility of it becoming an acquisition target if returns do not improve.”
Citigroup lowered its forecast for SinoPac Financial’s earning per share to NT$0.17 for this year and NT$1.09 next year, while cutting its target for the share price to NT$15.75. SinoPac shares closed down 2 percent at NT$12 yesterday.
Wintek losses widen
Local flat-panel supplier for handsets Wintek Corp (勝華) yesterday said its losses widened to NT$500 million in the first six months of the year from a NT$373 million loss a year ago.
Wintek, based in Taichung, said it expects operations to improve significantly in the second half, supported by seasonal demand from major mobile phone makers and a rebound in demand from white-brand handset makers in China. Demand for touch panels used in smartphones would be robust in the remainder of the year, it said.
Speculation has swirled that Wintek is supplying touch panels to Apple Inc, but the company declined to comment.
Revenues grew nearly 14 percent to NT$15.73 billion, from NT$13.85 billion a year ago.
Quanta revenues jump
Quanta Computer Inc (廣達電腦) posted NT$63.26 billion (US$2.05 billion) in revenues last month, an increase of 5.34 percent month-on-month and 6.86 percent year-on-year. So far this year, the company’s accumulated revenues stand at NT$456.24 billion, the company said in a statement yesterday.
Quanta is an original equipment manufacturer for Apple Inc and Acer Inc (宏碁). Overwhelming demand for Apple’s MacAir notebooks meant Quanta’s shipments to Apple Inc increased from 10 percent to 15 percent of the company’s total shipments, the statement said.
Moreover, Acer’s ew netbook, AspireOne, hit the market last month and Quanta anticipates a further revenue boost as a result, the company said.
China Steel revenues up
China Steel Corp’s (中鋼) gross revenues for last month totaled NT$25.996 billion (US$842.66 million), marking a monthly record high for the nation’s largest and only integrated steelmaker, the company said yesterday.
It was the sixth time in China Steel’s history that its monthly sales surpassed NT$20 billion.
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