TOOLMAKERS
Hiwin sales drop 34.56%
Hiwin Technologies Corp (上銀), the nation’s leading machine toolmaker, yesterday reported its lowest monthly sales in the past 21 months. The company’s revenue last month plummeted 34.56 percent to NT$982.1 million (US$29.7 million) from NT$1.5 billion a year earlier. On a monthly basis, revenue plunged 19.5 percent from the previous month’s NT$1.22 billion. Hiwin’s combined sales totaled NT$13.92 billion in the first 11 months of this year, a slight 1.05 percent increase from last year’s NT$13.78 billion. Hiwin chairman Eric Chuo (卓永財) on Nov. 10 told investors that due to continued weak demand, the outlook for the machine tool industry this quarter would be even softer than last quarter.
LIGHTING
Everlight reports sales drop
Everlight Electronics Co (億光), one of Taiwan’s leading LED lighting and products suppliers, yesterday posted a 7.47 percent annual decline in sales to NT$2.53 billion last month. On a monthly basis, the company’s revenue surged 9.05 percent from October’s NT$2.32 billion. In the first 11 months of the year, the company’s revenue totaled NT$26.23 billion, a 6.24 percent decline from NT$27.98 billion recorded in the same period last year, the company said in a filing.
CHIPMAKERS
Winbond sees revenue rise
Memorychip maker Winbond Electronics Corp’s (華邦電子) revenue increased by 2.64 percent year-on-year to NT$3.30 billion last month. However, sales saw a 2.28 percent monthly drop from October’s NT$3.38 billion in sales. Consolidated revenue for January through last month reached NT$35.2 billion, representing 1.01 percent annual growth compared with the same period last year. Company president Chang Tung-yi (詹東義) on Oct. 28 told investors that the firm has entered the supply chain of a tier-one smartphone maker and expects to receive large orders from the client this quarter.
PC PRODUCERS
Wistron sales grow 4.54%
Contract notebook producer Wistron Corp (緯創) yesterday said its sales grew 4.54 percent annually to NT$58.91 billion last month, driven by increasing shipments of notebooks. The result also represents 3.66 percent monthly growth from NT$56.83 billion generated in October, according to the firm’s filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange. The company’s combined revenue totaled NT$564.94 billion in the first 11 months of the year, a 6.28 percent annual increase from the same period last year. Wistron said it foresees monthly growth in its server segment this month, while its notebook segment is expected to drop from last month.
SMARTPHONES
Asustek second in Malaysia
Asustek Computer Inc (華碩) has emerged as the second-most popular mobile phone brand in Malaysia following the launch of its ZenFone series of smartphones in the country. Through improved marketing efforts and a strong sales drive, Asustek increased its smartphone market share in Malaysia to between 10 percent and 15 percent this year, ranking second only to South Korea’s Samsung Electronics Co, which holds a 40 percent market share. Asustek predicted that its smartphone market share in Malaysia would further rise to between 20 percent and 25 percent next year, when 4G smartphones are expected to become mainstream.
Stephen Garrett, a 27-year-old graduate student, always thought he would study in China, but first the country’s restrictive COVID-19 policies made it nearly impossible and now he has other concerns. The cost is one deterrent, but Garrett is more worried about restrictions on academic freedom and the personal risk of being stranded in China. He is not alone. Only about 700 American students are studying at Chinese universities, down from a peak of nearly 25,000 a decade ago, while there are nearly 300,000 Chinese students at US schools. Some young Americans are discouraged from investing their time in China by what they see
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
MAJOR DROP: CEO Tim Cook, who is visiting Hanoi, pledged the firm was committed to Vietnam after its smartphone shipments declined 9.6% annually in the first quarter Apple Inc yesterday said it would increase spending on suppliers in Vietnam, a key production hub, as CEO Tim Cook arrived in the country for a two-day visit. The iPhone maker announced the news in a statement on its Web site, but gave no details of how much it would spend or where the money would go. Cook is expected to meet programmers, content creators and students during his visit, online newspaper VnExpress reported. The visit comes as US President Joe Biden’s administration seeks to ramp up Vietnam’s role in the global tech supply chain to reduce the US’ dependence on China. Images on
New apartments in Taiwan’s major cities are getting smaller, while old apartments are increasingly occupied by older people, many of whom live alone, government data showed. The phenomenon has to do with sharpening unaffordable property prices and an aging population, property brokers said. Apartments with one bedroom that are two years old or older have gained a noticeable presence in the nation’s six special municipalities as well as Hsinchu county and city in the past five years, Evertrust Rehouse Co (永慶房產集團) found, citing data from the government’s real-price transaction platform. In Taipei, apartments with one bedroom accounted for 19 percent of deals last