Record profit for Compal
Compal Electronics Inc, the world’s biggest contract laptop maker by shipments, yesterday posted a record profit of NT$5.14 billion (US$158 million) in the third quarter after sales were boosted by Microsoft Corp’s new operating system.
Third-quarter net income rose 48 percent from NT$3.48 billion a year earlier, the Taipei-based company said in a statement.
Unconsolidated sales rose 57 percent to a record NT$173 billion. Gross margin, a key measure of profitability that calculates the percentage of revenue less cost of goods sold, was 4.7 percent, unchanged from the prior quarter, it said.
“We continue to maintain a positive view on 4Q09 notebook PC demand, which is stronger than our original expectation,” the company said.
Compal believes next year will be a “good notebook year,” the statement said.
Prices hurt Formosa Plastics
Formosa Plastics Corp (台塑), the world’s second-biggest maker of polyvinyl chloride (PVC), posted a 35 percent drop in third-quarter profit as increased supplies in China depressed product prices.
Net income fell to NT$9.2 billion (US$283 million) in the three months ended Sept. 30, from NT$14.1 billion a year earlier. The company’s third-quarter profit was calculated by deducting first-half net income from nine-month earnings, the Taipei-based company announced yesterday.
Sales in the July-to-September period declined 14 percent from a year earlier to NT$41.6 billion after the 28 percent drop in the second quarter, Formosa Plastics’ monthly stock exchange filings show.
Nine-month net income dropped to NT$19.8 billion, or NT$3.24 a share, from NT$34.3 billion, or NT$5.61, a year earlier, the company said in a stock exchange filing yesterday.
Refiner suffers fall in profit
Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化), Taiwan’s only publicly traded oil refiner, posted a 16 percent drop in third-quarter profit on lower fuel demand during the recession.
Net income declined to NT$13.4 billion (US$412 million) in the three months ended Sept. 30, from NT$16 billion a year earlier. The number was calculated by deducting the first-half profit from nine-month earnings, the Mailiao, Yunlin County-based firm said yesterday.
Third-quarter sales fell 29 percent from a year earlier to NT$181 billion after declining 41 percent in the previous three months, stock exchange filings show.
Nine-month profit fell to NT$29 billion, or NT$3.04 a share, from NT$45.6 billion, or NT$4.78 a share, a year earlier, according to a stock exchange filing yesterday.
Nan Ya profit looking up
Nan Ya Plastics Corp (南亞塑膠), the world’s largest processor of plastics for pipes and imitation leather, posted a 15 percent increase in third-quarter profit on a narrower loss from a chip-making affiliate.
Net income rose to NT$6.87 billion (US$211 million) in the three months ended Sept. 30, the Taipei-based company said in an e-mailed statement yesterday.
Nan Ya Plastics owns 38 percent of Nanya Technology Corp (南亞科技), Taiwan’s biggest memory-chip maker, which last week reported a loss of NT$3.89 billion for the third quarter, 56 percent narrower than a year earlier.
Third-quarter sales at Nan Ya Plastics fell 15 percent to NT$44.2 billion, according to monthly stock exchange filings. Nine-month net income fell to NT$8.97 billion from NT$24.8 billion, the firm said.
NT dollar loses ground
The New Taiwan dollar fell against the US dollar on the Taipei Foreign Exchange yesterday, declining NT$0.016 to close at NT$32.496. Turnover was US$693 million.
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