Engineering and electronics company Robert Bosch Taiwan Co yesterday said it is forecasting double-digit sales growth this year after its revenue fell 9.2 percent last year to NT$3.4 billion (US$113.5 million).
The company also said its automotive division has the potential to grow its sales this year. About 59 percent of its revenue last year came from its business with automotive companies.
WEAK ECONOMY
“Our sales last year were dragged down by the hydraulic parts business and our clients were hit severely by the weak economy in China,” managing director Bernd Barkey said at a press conference.
Barkey said the company had a “slow start” last quarter, but that it has seen sales begin to pick up this quarter. The company is expected to have a strong performance in the second half this year, he said.
“We hope we can grow by a double-digit percentage this year,” Barkey said.
JAPANESE CARS
Most of Bosch’s products are made for European cars, but because Japanese cars have a larger market share in Taiwan, the company plans to expand its service to this segment, said Adam Wang (王展全), general manager of the company’s automotive aftermarket division.
In January, the company established a warehouse for aftermarket automotive parts in Taiwan and started importing car parts suitable for Japanese cars from southeast Asia and China, Wang said.
Meanwhile, the company plans to set up eight more Bosch car service outlets in Taiwan by the end of this year, increasing its total outlets to 20.
The company expects to have 50 service outlets by 2015, he said.
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