Profits down, earnings up
The nation’s 710 companies on the Taiwan Stock Exchange have reported a 13 percent year-on-year decline in before-tax profits in the first half of this year, although their revenues saw 11.7 percent year-on-year growth in the same period, the Financial Supervisory Commission’s latest statistics showed yesterday.
Among the profit-earners, those in the electronics, optoelectronics, paper-making and steel industries have seen between 14 percent and 578 percent earnings growth in the first half, the figures showed.
However, the financial and insurance sector saw a 78.82 percent decline in profits, the biotechnology sector saw a 54.03 percent decline and the aviation sector a 58.08 percent decline, the commission said.
In addition, the nation’s 550 companies traded on the GRETAI Securities Market have seen a 110.15 percent year-on-year decline in before-tax profits in the first half of this year, while their revenues saw a 1.54 percent year-on-year growth, the commission said.
Wire and cable, plastics and rubber companies were profit earners, while tourism-related businesses, semiconductor companies and textile companies were pushed into the red in the first half of this year, the commission said.
AUO plans Czech factory
AU Optronics Corp (AUO, 友達光電), the world’s third-largest manufacturer of liquid-crystal displays (LCDs), said it was planning a factory in the Czech Republic to assemble LCD modules.
The company’s board approved plans to invest 250 million koruna (US$14.6 million) in the factory, Hsiao Ya-wen (蕭雅文), a spokeswoman for the Hsinchu-based company, said yesterday.
Qisda revenue declines
Qisda Corp (佳世達科技) yesterday posted a consolidated revenue of NT$8.4 billion (US$264 million) for last month, a 35.5 percent decline from the same time last year and a 7.9 percent decrease from the previous month.
The company attributed the drop to a lower average selling price.
Second-quarter revenue was previously reported at NT$30.5 billion. Earnings after tax was NT$570 million, leading to NT$0.32 in earnings per share.
Qisda is ranked fifth globally in the manufacture of LCD monitors, projectors and multi-functional printers.
Sony recalls Vaio laptops
Sony says it is recalling 440,000 Vaio laptop computers worldwide because of a wiring flaw that could cause overheating.
Sony Corp said yesterday the recall involves 19 models in the Vaio TZ series manufactured between May last year and July this year, including three export models.
The Tokyo-based consumer electronics company says improperly placed wires near the hinge connecting the body of the laptop and its display could wear quickly, causing a short circuit and overheating.
New oolong variety created
A new variety of oolong tea has been developed on a plantation in Taitung County, with a taste that is described as smooth and naturally sweet.
The new variety, called red oolong tea, was developed as a result of joint efforts between a farmer’s association in Luye Township (鹿野) in Taitung County and the Council of Agriculture’s Tea Research and Extension Station in Taoyuan County.
The red oolong tea was grown on the Fulu tea plantation in Luye.
Tea produced on the plantation recently won the top prize in a competition sponsored by the council.
Among the rows of vibrators, rubber torsos and leather harnesses at a Chinese sex toys exhibition in Shanghai this weekend, the beginnings of an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven shift in the industry quietly pulsed. China manufactures about 70 percent of the world’s sex toys, most of it the “hardware” on display at the fair — whether that be technicolor tentacled dildos or hyper-realistic personalized silicone dolls. Yet smart toys have been rising in popularity for some time. Many major European and US brands already offer tech-enhanced products that can enable long-distance love, monitor well-being and even bring people one step closer to
Malaysia’s leader yesterday announced plans to build a massive semiconductor design park, aiming to boost the Southeast Asian nation’s role in the global chip industry. A prominent player in the semiconductor industry for decades, Malaysia accounts for an estimated 13 percent of global back-end manufacturing, according to German tech giant Bosch. Now it wants to go beyond production and emerge as a chip design powerhouse too, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said. “I am pleased to announce the largest IC (integrated circuit) Design Park in Southeast Asia, that will house world-class anchor tenants and collaborate with global companies such as Arm [Holdings PLC],”
TRANSFORMATION: Taiwan is now home to the largest Google hardware research and development center outside of the US, thanks to the nation’s economic policies President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday attended an event marking the opening of Google’s second hardware research and development (R&D) office in Taiwan, which was held at New Taipei City’s Banciao District (板橋). This signals Taiwan’s transformation into the world’s largest Google hardware research and development center outside of the US, validating the nation’s economic policy in the past eight years, she said. The “five plus two” innovative industries policy, “six core strategic industries” initiative and infrastructure projects have grown the national industry and established resilient supply chains that withstood the COVID-19 pandemic, Tsai said. Taiwan has improved investment conditions of the domestic economy
Sales in the retail, and food and beverage sectors last month continued to rise, increasing 0.7 percent and 13.6 percent respectively from a year earlier, setting record highs for the month of March, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday. Sales in the wholesale sector also grew last month by 4.6 annually, mainly due to the business opportunities for emerging applications related to artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing technologies, the ministry said in a report. The ministry forecast that retail, and food and beverage sales this month would retain their growth momentum as the former would benefit from Tomb Sweeping Day