Financially strapped touchpanel maker Wintek Corp (勝華科技) yesterday said it plans to introduce strategic partners, sell assets and streamline its workforce to weather its financial woes.
It was the second time the company has talked about its financial problems to ease investors’ concerns, following the announcement on Wednesday last week that it has obtained an extension for the repayment of bank loans due yesterday, while seeking a new capital injection to fund its operations.
It said it had obtained an extension for the repayment of bank loans due later this month and was seeking a new capital injection to fund its operations, but reassured investors that the company remains operational.
“Wintek will endeavor to execute its restructuring plan to improve its operational performance and reduce operational expenses,” company spokesman Jay Huang (黃忠傑) said in a statement.
However, jittery investors continued to sell Wintek shares yesterday. Wintek shares plunged 6.96 percent yesterday to NT$6.55, marking their fifth consecutive day of losses.
“The company hopes to introduce more strategic partners via private placements to improve the company’s financial structure,” Huang said in a statement filed to the stock exchange.
In addition, Wintek will accelerate its pace of integrating production capacity and shut down more production lines and dispose of idled plants to boost cash holdings and lower operational costs, Huang added.
Wintek has shut down two local factories.
Huang said the company is planning to revitalize some under-utilized assets to raise operational efficiency and accelerate the pace of debt repayment.
Company chairman Hyley Huang (黃顯雄) told local media that the company aimed to save NT$1 billion (US$32.9 million) in costs a month. Huang said he hopes to turn the touchpanel company around within three years.
Wintek had posted net losses of NT$15.03 billion over the past three years, with losses in the first half of this year of NT$3.42 billion, the company said in a statement.
Wintek blamed weaker-than-expected demand for notebook computers with touch features for the company’s low factory utilization and continuing losses. Wintek has invested a total of NT$48.8 billion to boost capacity over the past four-and-a-half years.
Wintek declined to comment on the report by the United Evening News that it suffered a double hit after Chinese smartphone vendor Xiaomi Corp (小米) withdrew orders.
In the first eight months of the year, the Greater Taichung-based firm repaid NT$1.24 billion in long-term debt and slashed short-term debt by NT$3.91 billion, according to the statement
Consolidated net sales of Wintek amounted to NT$49.17 billion, an increase of NT$1.8 billion, or 3.8 percent, from NT$47.37 billion it posted in the same period last year, the company statement said.
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