Aerospace Industrial Development Corp (AIDC, 漢翔航空工業), the nation’s largest civilian and military aircraft manufacturer, expects steady sales ahead, with more than NT$100 billion (US$3.24 billion) in orders on hand to keep its plants busy over the next few years.
The company’s consolidated sales grew 7.96 percent to NT$24.92 billion last year from NT$23.09 billion in 2013, outperforming the local aerospace industry, which expanded by between 4.7 percent and 5 percent during the period.
The company received more than NT$40 billion in new orders last year, AIDC chairman Anson Liao (廖榮鑫) said, adding that he expected this year’s sales momentum to remain robust.
“The company has more than NT$100 billion orders on hand, which it will process over the next five years,” Liao told an investors’ conference yesterday.
To cope with the strong demand and an already full capacity, AIDC has budgeted NT$2.4 billion for capital expenditure this year, mainly for the construction of a new aero-engine casing plant and an advanced composite center, as well as the renovation of a plant for a project to upgrade the nation’s F-16 jets.
In the long term, the company aims to increase its products’ added value, while strengthening vertical integration with downstream suppliers to cope with intensifying price competition from industry subcontractors.
The company last year posted a net profit of NT$1.87 billion, or NT$2.06 per share, an increase of 44.96 percent from NT$1.29 billion, or NT$1.42 per share, in 2013, AIDC said in a statement.
Consolidated sales totaled NT$5.84 billion in the first three months of the year, up 4.91 percent from the same period last year, according to the company’s stock exchange filing.
AIDC shares rose 1.63 percent to close at NT$40.50 on the local bourse yesterday, outperforming the TAIEX, which advanced 0.6 percent, stock exchange data showed.
The company is set to pay a cash dividend of NT$0.92 per share this year.
It is also planning to discuss with the Ministry of Economic Affairs a plan to raise foreign investors’ maximum shareholding in the company from the current 10 percent at the end of the third quarter.
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