Sanitar Co Ltd (凱撒衛浴), which makes sanitary wares under the Caesar brand, yesterday said it expects revenues next year to rise more than 30 percent, supported by better yields and increased capacities.
The second-biggest sanitary ware maker in the nation said it began operating a new factory in Vietnam, with annual capacity of 640,000 units of sanitary wares in July, company chairman and general manager Tony Hsiao (蕭俊祥) told investors, adding that its yield has improved after it introduced a new manufacturing process.
The new factory has raised the company’s annual capacity to 1.6 million units.
“We will be able to fully satisfy customers’ demand next year, as we plan to deploy this new manufacturing process on more production lines,” Hsiao said.
Aided by the new process, revenue hit a record-high NT$165.86 million last month, Hsiao said. The figure was up 28.86 percent from NT$128.72 million a year ago and 17.97 percent from NT$140.6 million a month ago, the company’s filing to the Taiwan Stock Exchange showed.
Revenue this quarter is likely to hit its highest this year because of replacement demand ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday, Hsiao said.
Gross margin improved to 32.4 percent last quarter, from 29.4 percent in the first half of this year, Hsiao said.
Gross margin is likely to rise further this quarter, he said.
Net profit jumped 50.66 percent to NT$110.9 million in the first nine months, from NT$73.61 million the previous year, the filing showed.
As the second-largest sanitary ware provider in Vietnam after Inax Corp, the company said it can benefit from ASEAN’s free-trade agreement when it goes into effect in 2015, allowing it easier access to other markets, Hsiao said.
Sales in Vietnam accounted for 36 percent of its revenue last year, the company said.
Sanitar shares declined 1.74 percent to NT$31 yesterday, underperforming the TAIEX, which dropped 1.28 percent.
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