Formosa Plastics Group (台塑集團), the nation’s largest industrial conglomerate, on Friday reported that combined sales at its four main units last month rose 26.9 percent compared with the previous year to NT$129.43 billion (US$4.17).
Among the four units, Formosa Petrochemical Corp (FPCC, 台塑石化), the nation’s only listed oil refiner, was the top performer last month, posting sales of NT$60.55 billion, up 44 percent annually and 7.4 percent monthly, company data showed.
At a news conference on Friday, FPCC president Tsao Minh (曹明) gave an upbeat outlook on global oil prices on the back of improving economic growth momentum and ongoing production cuts among oil suppliers.
Tsao said that crude prices are expected to rise to about US$55 per barrel this year, adding that rising prices have led to a US$3.2 per barrel increase in the average selling prices of the company’s oil products last month.
Formosa Chemicals & Fibre Corp (台灣化學纖維), which produces aromatics and styrenics, reported sales of NT$30.07 billion, gaining 22.1 percent yearly and 3.8 percent monthly.
The company is expecting sales this quarter to be higher than the previous quarter, driven by rising demand for home appliances and cars in China.
Nan Ya Plastics Corp (南亞塑膠), the nation’s largest plastics maker, posted sales of NT$23.998 billion last month, up 13.5 percent year-on-year, but down 6.1 percent month-on-month.
Nan Ya attributed the monthly decline to the lower number of working days due to the Lunar New Year holidays, which drove down demand from downstream manufacturers.
Formosa Plastics Corp’s (台塑) sales last month were NT$14.81 billion, 4.6 percent higher annually, but 17.2 percent lower monthly.
The company is expecting sales to pick up next month on the back of improving market prospects in India, where demonetization impacts are diminishing, as well as in the US, where demand is anticipated to rise as construction resumes following the end of extreme cold weather.
Meanwhile, analysts have said that FPCC’s earnings might have peaked last year and further growth could be limited.
Gains from rising crude oil prices, which had propelled the company’s earnings last year, are expected to be smaller this year, according to a HSBC Global Research report published last month.
The report said that corrections in the ethylene cycle and light olefin spreads this year as new capacities among suppliers emerge.
FPCC’s utilities business is also facing rising fuel costs amid a strong rebound in coal prices, the report said.
Merida Industry Co (美利達) has seen signs of recovery in the US and European markets this year, as customers are gradually depleting their inventories, the bicycle maker told shareholders yesterday. Given robust growth in new orders at its Taiwanese factory, coupled with its subsidiaries’ improving performance, Merida said it remains confident about the bicycle market’s prospects and expects steady growth in its core business this year. CAUTION ON CHINA However, the company must handle the Chinese market with great caution, as sales of road bikes there have declined significantly, affecting its revenue and profitability, Merida said in a statement, adding that it would
MARKET LEADERSHIP: Investors are flocking to Nvidia, drawn by the company’s long-term fundamntals, dominant position in the AI sector, and pricing and margin power Two years after Nvidia Corp made history by becoming the first chipmaker to achieve a US$1 trillion market capitalization, an even more remarkable milestone is within its grasp: becoming the first company to reach US$4 trillion. After the emergence of China’s DeepSeek (深度求索) sent the stock plunging earlier this year and stoked concerns that outlays on artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure were set to slow, Nvidia shares have rallied back to a record. The company’s biggest customers remain full steam ahead on spending, much of which is flowing to its computing systems. Microsoft Corp, Meta Platforms Inc, Amazon.com Inc and Alphabet Inc are
RISING: Strong exports, and life insurance companies’ efforts to manage currency risks indicates the NT dollar would eventually pass the 29 level, an expert said The New Taiwan dollar yesterday rallied to its strongest in three years amid inflows to the nation’s stock market and broad-based weakness in the US dollar. Exporter sales of the US currency and a repatriation of funds from local asset managers also played a role, said two traders, who asked not to be identified as they were not authorized to speak publicly. State-owned banks were seen buying the greenback yesterday, but only at a moderate scale, the traders said. The local currency gained 0.77 percent, outperforming almost all of its Asian peers, to close at NT$29.165 per US dollar in Taipei trading yesterday. The
The US overtaking China as Taiwan’s top export destination could boost industrial development and wage growth, given the US is a high-income economy, an economist said yesterday. However, Taiwan still needs to diversify its export markets due to the unpredictability of US President Donald Trump’s administration, said Chiou Jiunn-rong (邱俊榮), an economics professor at National Central University. Taiwan’s exports soared to a record US$51.74 billion last month, driven by strong demand for artificial intelligence (AI) products and continued orders, with information and communication technology (ICT) and audio/video products leading all sectors. The US reclaimed its position as Taiwan’s top export market, accounting for
RSS