The four major units of Formosa Plastics Group (台塑集團), the nation’s largest industrial conglomerate, yesterday reported combined revenue totaled NT$111.4 billion (US$3.54 billion) for last month, down by 0.6 percent from June and 3.9 percent from the same period last year.
In the first seven months of this year, the group saw combined revenue decrease 14.8 percent to NT$755.2 billion from the same period last year, company data showed.
The four major units are Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化); Formosa Plastics Corp (台灣塑膠); Formosa Chemicals and Fibre Corp (台灣化學纖維); and Nan Ya Plastics Corp (南亞塑膠).
On a monthly basis, the only unit to report a decline in sales was Formosa Petrochemical, the nation’s only private oil refiner.
The company posted revenue of NT$45.89 billion for last month, down by 6 percent from June and 4 percent from the same period last year.
“The drop in revenue last month was due to regular maintenance and the lower price of oil,” Formosa Petrochemical president Tsao Mihn (曹明) told a news conference.
Formosa Chemicals, a supplier of aromatics and styrene, reported sales last month totaled NT$27.97 billion, up by 2.5 percent from June and 0.8 percent annually.
After completing routine maintenance in June, the firm’s plants started to operate on schedule, boosting the company’s production, Formosa Chemicals president Hong Fu-yuan (洪福源) told reporters.
Nan Ya Plastics posted a 6.7 percent monthly increase in sales to NT$22.72 billion for last month, a drop of 7.1 percent from the same period last year.
The revenue increase was attributed to rising demand for electronics materials and plasticizers, Nan Ya Plastics chairman Wu Chia-chau (吳嘉昭) said.
Formosa Plastics Corp, the nation’s largest producer of polyvinyl chloride (PVC), reported a slight 0.8 percent monthly increase in revenue to NT$14.82 billion last month, a 6.7 percent annual decline.
The group holds a conservative outlook for the third quarter of the year, as Formosa Petrochemical’s second olefin plant is this month to undergo regular maintenance, which will last until next month.
As Formosa Petrochemical is the upstream supplier for the whole group, the other three units are to adjust their production during the plant’s maintenance, the group’s officials said.
However, global demand for PVC is expected to rise significantly in the third quarter, which would help to stimulate the group’s sales, they added.
Demand in India, the biggest importer of PVC in Asia, is growing due to ongoing infrastructure development projects, Formosa Plastics Corp president Jason Lin (林健男) added.
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