Garment manufacturer Quang Viet Enterprise Co (QVE, 廣越) yesterday raised its shipment forecast for this year from 10 million units to 10.5 million units, on the back of better-than-expected demand from its major customers.
“The figure is nearly 15 percent higher than last year’s 9.1 million units,” a Quang Viet investor relations official said by telephone.
The official, who declined to be named, said that sales growth this year is mainly being propelled by existing clients, including Adidas, Nike and Patagonia.
The Taipei-based company manufactures down jackets, as well as PrimaLoft and ThermoBall jackets.
Adidas remained its biggest customer last year, accounting for 32 percent of overall sales, company data showed.
Quant Viet has also secured new orders from other brands, such as Aigle, Nautica and Converse, the official said.
Cumulative sales in the first two months of the year fell 5 percent to NT$479.98 million (US$15.82 million) from a year earlier, as customers have yet to finish inventory digestion, the company said.
However, the company expects sales to pick up in the second quarter — a high season for down jacket manufacturers, the official said.
“We have been expanding capacity to satisfy customers’ demand for several years,” the official said, adding that 15 new production lines at its plant in Long An Province, Vietnam, is to start operations next week.
Another 15 new production lines at its factory in Vietnam’s Tien Giang Province are to begin production by the end of this year, the company said.
Combined with other factories in Vietnam and China, Quang Viet operates a total of 305 production lines, which can turn out 950,000 garments per month, company data showed.
Net profit for last year plunged 34.5 percent from a year earlier to NT$698.3 million, or earnings per share of NT$7.41, on sales of NT$9.04 billion, down 3.5 percent, the company said, attributing the results to weak sentiment in the global garment industry.
The company’s board has approved a proposal to distribute cash dividends of NT$6.2 per share, which translates into a payout ratio of 84 percent.
Shares of Quang Viet rose 3.32 percent to close at NT$171 in Taipei trading. The stock has increased 18.75 percent so far this year, Taiwan Stock Exchange data showed.
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