Delta Electronics Inc (台達電) chairman Bruce Cheng (鄭崇華) yesterday announced plans to retire after steering the world’s top manufacturer of switching power supplies for four decades.
Cheng’s announcement came after the company’s shareholders’ meeting gave the green light to a NT$3.5 cash dividend per share based on last year’s net income of NT$10.99 billion, or NT$4.58 earnings per share.
“It is time for me to step aside so younger people can fill the vacancy,” Cheng said. “I have been working for 52 years and have been with Delta Electronics since its establishment 42 years ago.”
Photo: Tsai I-hsuan, Taipei Times
The Taipei-based company will elect a new chairperson in its board meeting on Thursday next week, he said.
Delta Electronics vice chairman and chief executive Yancey Hai (海英俊) is expected to assume the leadership, assisted by Delta general manager Mark Ko (柯子興) and Delta Electronics China president Cheng Ping (鄭平), the eldest son of Bruce Cheng, local Chinese-language media reported.
Delta Electronics, in which foreign investors own more than 50 percent of shares, will not become a family-run company, but family members and friends might vie for promotions on an equal footing with other employees, Bruce Cheng said.
The outgoing chairman apologized on behalf of the company for missing its earnings target last year, because of soft demand for power adapters used in notebook computers, he said.
Meanwhile, the company’s solar energy business remains a drag on profitability as global governments cut subsidies amid economic uncertainty, he added.
Delta Electronics will continue to invest in the development of solar energy sources, the 76-year-old Cheng said, adding that he remains positive on the business outlook for alternative energy sources.
Bruce Cheng said that after retiring, he would like to work as a volunteer to advance environmental protection, since he is familiar with and has know-how on the issue.
“Human beings cause a lot of damage to the Earth in the pursuit of a better quality of life,” as evidenced in the increase in fatal natural disasters and dwindling natural resources, he said.
Delta Electronics shares closed down 1.78 percent at NT$88.4 yesterday, weaker than the TAIEX’s 0.11 percent decline, the Taiwan Stock Exchange’s data showed.
However, Credit Suisse kept its target price for the company unchanged at NT$106 in a recent research note, impressed by its interactive studio for education and its mobile charger solution unveiled at the Computex trade show earlier this month.
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