CHC Healthcare Group (承業醫), which distributes and leases medical equipment, yesterday secured the exclusive rights to sell Canada-based Novadaq Technologies Inc’s imaging systems in Taiwan and China.
The two companies signed a contract in Taipei, with both companies committing to a minimum annual purchase, but without specifying the amount.
CHC expects to start importing Novadaq products after receiving government approvals in Taiwan, likely by the end of June, and in China, in the next six to nine months, company deputy spokesperson Stephanie Kao (高淑芬) said by telephone.
Novadaq’s imaging systems are to be sold to hospitals at a price of about US$300,000 each, Kao said, adding that the equipment can help reduce post-operative complications and hospital costs during complex surgery.
CHC has high hopes for the medical systems, with Novadaq selling about 1,100 units in the US over the past two years, it said, while declining to set sales targets for either Taiwan or China.
The latest deal came after CHC’s subsidiary — Swissray Global Holding Lt Co (環瑞醫) — sealed an exclusive deal with Novadaq in November last year to distribute its imaging systems in Southeast Asia and Australia, Kao said.
Last year, CHC reported sales of NT$2.06 billion (US$68.44 million), up 3.55 percent from NT$1.99 billion a year ago, the company said in a filing to the Taiwan Stock Exchange.
The company expects its revenue this year to increase by 30 percent on the back of rising sales of diagnostic imaging and molecular systems licensed by GE Healthcare Taiwan in September last year. Sales of the system are expected to account for about 10 percent of the company’s revenue this year, Kao said.
In addition, sales of Elekta AB-licensed radiation oncology devices to China are projected to increase from one unit last year to seven to eight this year, the company said, adding that the device costs about US$3 million each.
From January through September last year, the company posted a net profit of NT$217.16 million, or NT$1.72 per share, down 19.3 percent from NT$269.09 million, or NT$2.52 per share, the previous year, the company said in a stock filing.
The company expects profit for the fourth quarter last year would reach NT$1.2 per share, up from NT$0.93 per share in the third quarter, as the company booked most of its revenue from repair and maintenance services last quarter.
CHC shares rose 0.82 percent to NT$73.70 yesterday, outperforming the TAIEX, which was up 0.3 percent.
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
Among the rows of vibrators, rubber torsos and leather harnesses at a Chinese sex toys exhibition in Shanghai this weekend, the beginnings of an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven shift in the industry quietly pulsed. China manufactures about 70 percent of the world’s sex toys, most of it the “hardware” on display at the fair — whether that be technicolor tentacled dildos or hyper-realistic personalized silicone dolls. Yet smart toys have been rising in popularity for some time. Many major European and US brands already offer tech-enhanced products that can enable long-distance love, monitor well-being and even bring people one step closer to
RECORD-BREAKING: TSMC’s net profit last quarter beat market expectations by expanding 8.9% and it was the best first-quarter profit in the chipmaker’s history Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), which counts Nvidia Corp as a key customer, yesterday said that artificial intelligence (AI) server chip revenue is set to more than double this year from last year amid rising demand. The chipmaker expects the growth momentum to continue in the next five years with an annual compound growth rate of 50 percent, TSMC chief executive officer C.C. Wei (魏哲家) told investors yesterday. By 2028, AI chips’ contribution to revenue would climb to about 20 percent from a percentage in the low teens, Wei said. “Almost all the AI innovators are working with TSMC to address the
FUTURE PLANS: Although the electric vehicle market is getting more competitive, Hon Hai would stick to its goal of seizing a 5 percent share globally, Young Liu said Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), a major iPhone assembler and supplier of artificial intelligence (AI) servers powered by Nvidia Corp’s chips, yesterday said it has introduced a rotating chief executive structure as part of the company’s efforts to cultivate future leaders and to enhance corporate governance. The 50-year-old contract electronics maker reported sizable revenue of NT$6.16 trillion (US$189.67 billion) last year. Hon Hai, also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), has been under the control of one man almost since its inception. A rotating CEO system is a rarity among Taiwanese businesses. Hon Hai has given leaders of the company’s six