Cathay Financial Holding Co (國泰金控), the nation’s largest financial service provider by assets, posted NT$2.5 billion (US$84.72 million) in net income last month, an 18 percent increase from the previous month on the back of unrealized property gains, the company said yesterday.
Accumulated profit totaled NT$9.57 billion in the first four months of the year, or NT$0.88 per share, ranking second after Fubon Financial Holding Co’s (富邦金控) NT$1.3 per share.
The company said its subsidiary Cathay Life Insurance Co (國泰人壽) generated NT$1.21 billion in net profit last month due to unrealized property gains valued at NT$800 million.
Cathay Financial said its earnings per share (EPS) would stand at NT$0.57 if taken without the benefits from property value increments at its life insurance subsidiary.
Cathay United Bank (國泰世華銀行), which generated NT$1.26 billion in net income last month, yesterday received approval from the Financial Supervisory Commission for its plans to partner with telecommunications service providers in issuing credit cards via mobile devices.
The bank’s new line of business may help increase its customer base and fee income given the prevalence of smartphones in Taiwan, the lender said in a statement.
Fubon Financial Holding Co (富邦金控) reported NT$2.27 billion in net profit last month, down 21.48 percent from March, as the firm set aside extra provision and put a halt on realizing investment gains, company president Victor Kung (龔天行) told reporters.
Cumulative earnings totaled NT$12.42 billion for the first four months with EPS equivalent to NT$1.3, the company said in a statement on Wednesday.
Despite the earnings slowdown, Fubon Financial took solace in the fact that all of its units turned a profit, including a NT$1.26 billion profit from Taipei Fubon Commercial Bank (台北富邦銀行) and a NT$570 million profit from Fubon Life Insurance Co (富邦人壽), company data showed.
Meanwhile, Chinatrust Financial Holding Co (中信金控) reported NT$1.88 billion in net profit last month, up 5.85 percent from March, thanks to earnings from improved lottery ticket sales and disposal of bad loan assets at a US banking branch, the company said on Tuesday.
Chinatrust Financial’s net income totaled NT$8.33 billion in the first four months, with EPS of NT$0.66, ranking it fifth among its local peers.
Taishin Financial Holding Co (台新金控) and Mega Financial Holding Co (兆豐金控) were placed third and fourth in terms of EPS, with earnings of NT$0.8 and NT$0.71 respectively in the first four months, according to their stock exchange filings earlier this week.
Taiwan Transport and Storage Corp (TTS, 台灣通運倉儲) yesterday unveiled its first electric tractor unit — manufactured by Volvo Trucks — in a ceremony in Taipei, and said the unit would soon be used to transport cement produced by Taiwan Cement Corp (TCC, 台灣水泥). Both TTS and TCC belong to TCC International Holdings Ltd (台泥國際集團). With the electric tractor unit, the Taipei-based cement firm would become the first in Taiwan to use electric vehicles to transport construction materials. TTS chairman Koo Kung-yi (辜公怡), Volvo Trucks vice president of sales and marketing Johan Selven, TCC president Roman Cheng (程耀輝) and Taikoo Motors Group
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