Formosa Plastics Corp (台塑), the nation’s largest producer of polyvinyl chloride, said it expects its revenue this quarter to be higher than last quarter’s NT$47.8 billion (US$1.56 billion), as it should benefit from a higher utilization rate.
“The company’s utilization rate should reach more than 90 percent this quarter from last quarter’s 88 percent,” Formosa Plastics Corp president Jason Lin (林健男) told an earnings conference yesterday.
Nine factories went through regular maintenance during the period, while only two plants are scheduled to conduct maintenance this quarter, the company said.
Apart from larger capacity, it also expects increasing demand from global customers, as the second quarter is usually a peak season for petrochemical companies.
As part of its business strategy, the company said it is aiming to reach more customers from Southeast Asia and the Middle East this year, in a bid to reduce reliance on Chinese customers.
Beijing’s tighter capital controls and higher environmental standards have lowered demand for petrochemical products there, Lin said.
The company posted a net profit of NT$9.89 billion, or NT$1.55 earnings per share, for last quarter, representing a 18 percent decline from the previous quarter.
The company attributed the decline from three months earlier to lower production capacity and a foreign exchange loss of NT$1.69 billion because of the appreciation of the New Taiwan dollar against the US dollar.
However, the net profit translates into a 73.1 percent increase from NT$5.71 billion a year earlier, buoyed by soaring oil prices and improving demand, it said.
Another three major units of Formosa Plastics Group (台塑集團), the nation’s largest industrial conglomerate, also saw last quarter’s profit increase between 73.1 percent and 116.5 percent on an annual basis.
Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化), the nation’s only listed oil refiner, saw its net profit increase 116.5 percent annually to NT$22.6 billion last quarter, or NT$2.37 earnings per share.
Formosa Chemicals & Fibre Corp (台灣化學纖維), which produces aromatics and styrene, posted a net profit of NT$11.7 billion, or NT$2 earnings per share, up 73.2 percent from the previous year.
Nan Ya Plastics Corp (南亞塑膠), the nation’s largest plastics maker, saw its net profit soar 102.1 percent annually to NT$10.86 billion, or NT$1.37 earnings per share, company data showed.
The group saw its overall profits increase 94.7 percent to NT$55.06 billion last quarter from a year earlier, with revenue up 21.3 percent to NT$374.2 billion.
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