FOOTWEAR
Feng Tay revenue up
Feng Tay Enterprise Co (豐泰鞋業), which supplies about one-sixth of Nike’s footwear, yesterday reported better-than-expected net income of NT$3.07 billion (US$93.8 million) for the first three quarters of the year, or earnings per share of NT$5.14. Revenue from January through last month was a record high of NT$40.92 billion, up 18.49 percent from a year earlier, while operating income grew 21.3 percent to NT$3.91 billion, the company said in a presentation document. Analysts forecast the Feng Tay’s footwear shipments for this quarter should reach 23.4 million pairs from 21.8 million pairs last quarter, based on seasonal demand.
PETROCHEMICALS
Steady outlook seen for FPG
Credit Suisse Group AG yesterday said it expects a steady outlook for the four major units of Formosa Plastics Group (FPG, 台塑集團) this quarter, citing a more stabilized crude oil pricing environment, restocking demand in China and resumed production after maintenance shutdowns last quarter. It revised the earnings of Formosa Plastics Corp (台塑), Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化), Nan Ya Plastics Corp (南亞塑膠) and Formosa Chemicals & Fibre Corp (台灣化學纖維) upward by between 3 percent and 11 percent this quarter to incorporate the better-than-expected third-quarter results. The four companies on Monday reported a combined net income of NT$37.29 billion, up 19.8 percent from a year earlier, which boosted their profit for the first three quarters 30.4 percent to NT$111.8 billion.
INVESTMENT
Buy-back plan approved
Taiwan Hon Chuan Enterprise Co (宏全), a major supplier of beverage packaging materials, yesterday said its board approved a plan to buy back 10 million shares, or 3.23 percent of its issued capital, in an attempt to stabilize the company’s share price. The open market buy-back scheme, its second in three months, is to begin today and run through Dec. 13, Hon Chuan said in a filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange. The company — which counts Tingyi (Cayman Islands) Holding Corp (康師傅控股), Coca-Cola Co and Shandong Huapeng Glass Co (山東華鵬玻璃) among its major clients — plans to repurchase its shares at between NT$45 and NT$70 per share. Its shares closed at NT$50 in Taipei trading yesterday.
PHARMACEUTICALS
Safer packaging introduced
E-paper display supplier E Ink Holdings Inc (元太科技) yesterday launched a joint effort with Italy’s Palladio Group aimed at improving the ability to monitor and preserve the quality of medicines. E Ink said it and Palladio, a world leader in developing packaging solutions for pharmaceuticals, have created PhutureMed, which has an integrated E Ink display and sensors to constantly monitor the ambient conditions of a medication. The E Ink display shows a consumer any events that occur outside the required handling conditions, even if the batteries are completely drained, the statement said.
BANKING
Bid for Ta Chong approved
Shareholders of Yuanta Financial Holding Co (元大金控) yesterday approved the company’s NT$56.55 billion deal to acquire 100 percent of Ta Chong Bank Ltd (大眾銀行) through a cash-and-share swap. The conglomerate is to pay NT$8.15 per share in cash and 0.460972 share of new Yuanta Financial common shares in exchange for each Ta Chong share. The deal is expected to be completed in February or March.
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
Malaysia’s leader yesterday announced plans to build a massive semiconductor design park, aiming to boost the Southeast Asian nation’s role in the global chip industry. A prominent player in the semiconductor industry for decades, Malaysia accounts for an estimated 13 percent of global back-end manufacturing, according to German tech giant Bosch. Now it wants to go beyond production and emerge as a chip design powerhouse too, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said. “I am pleased to announce the largest IC (integrated circuit) Design Park in Southeast Asia, that will house world-class anchor tenants and collaborate with global companies such as Arm [Holdings PLC],”