E.Sun Financial Holding Co (玉山金控) yesterday reported a net profit of NT$4.34 billion (US$140.71 billion) in the third quarter, sliding 1.04 percent from three months earlier, as earnings in its non-banking units weakened amid the bumpy global economic recovery.
The financial service provider expects to see mild growth in overall net income this year as the quantitative easing monetary policy in the West may deepen volatility in financial markets, the company said in its report.
“The New Taiwan dollar picked up 5 percent against the US currency since the end of 2007, while the Japanese yen strengthened almost 30 percent, which may benefit Taiwan,” the report said.
However, high unemployment in the US and Europe may continue to curb demand for -Taiwan-made electronics, casting uncertainty over the economic outlook, the report said.
For the first nine months, E.Sun Financial posted a net profit of NT$3.07 billion, or NT$0.81 earnings per share, more than double its level last year, driven by growth in income from fee-related business, company president Joseph Huang (黃男州) said. E.Sun Commercial Bank (玉山銀行), the banking subsidiary and the group’s main source of revenue, reported a net profit of NT$3 billion as of the third quarter, surging 109 percent from a year earlier, Huang said.
Net fee income reached NT$4.13 billion in the third quarter, rising 6.6 percent from the second quarter and 50.8 percent from a year earlier, which Huang attributed to revived wealth management and credit card business.
Net interest income grew 5.7 percent quarterly to NT$845.3 million in the third quarter, or up 36.4 percent from a year earlier, as net interest margin edged up to 1.25 percent in the third quarter, from 1.22 percent three months earlier, while interest spread gained one basis point to 1.64 percent, the report said.
The lender won approval on Thursday from the financial regulator to sign a cooperation agreement with China Zheshang Bank (浙商銀行) related to business development and personnel training, Huang said.
The bank, which set up a representative office in Dongguan, China, in April, had a bad loan ratio of 0.39 percent at the end of September, down from 0.45 percent at the end of June.
BUSINESS UPDATE: The iPhone assembler said operations outlook is expected to show quarter-on-quarter and year-on-year growth for the second quarter Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) yesterday reported strong growth in sales last month, potentially raising expectations for iPhone sales while artificial intelligence (AI)-related business booms. The company, which assembles the majority of Apple Inc’s smartphones, reported a 19.03 percent rise in monthly sales to NT$510.9 billion (US$15.78 billion), from NT$429.22 billion in the same period last year. On a monthly basis, sales rose 14.16 percent, it said. The company in a statement said that last month’s revenue was a record-breaking April performance. Hon Hai, known also as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), assembles most iPhones, but the company is diversifying its business to
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