Taisun Int’l (Holding) Corp (泰昇), which makes diapers, sanitary pads and adult incontinence products, said its new plant in Cambodia is to start trial production in the fourth quarter of this year, as part of the firm’s efforts to maintain its competitiveness in the nation.
Taisun — the largest diaper supplier in Cambodia and the fourth-largest in Vietnam — sells most of its products under four self-owned brands in Southeast Asia and Africa, including UniDry and SunMate.
The facility, which cost the company US$11.7 million, is scheduled to begin mass production in the first quarter of next year, Taisun president and chairman Tai Chao-rong (戴朝榮) said at an investors’ conference in Taipei on Monday.
The Cambodian plant is expected to generate revenue of US$30 million per year by producing baby training pants and sanitary pads, the firm said.
The company is also to add several production lines at its Vietnamese plant this year, raising the annual capacity of adult diapers from 90 million items to 135 million, Taisun said.
Headquartered in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, the company posted sales of NT$490.2 million (US$16.25 million) in the first four months of the year, a 0.31 percent decline from the same period the previous year, data showed.
In the first quarter, Taisun saw its net profit decrease 4.9 percent from NT$71.1 million the previous year to NT$67.6 million, or earnings per share of NT$1.94.
Gross margin over the period also slid from 32.33 percent to 32.95 percent, according to a filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange.
The company attributed the sluggish earnings performance to weaker-than-expected demand in Africa amid rising competition.
“Some of our global competitors have expanded their footprints in Africa, as the continent has a relatively low penetration rate for diapers,” Tai told investors.
In Africa alone, sales plunged 75.1 percent to NT$17.5 million in the first three months of the year, the company said.
Company data showed that revenue from African nations contributed 4.69 percent of the company’s total revenue last quarter, while sales in Cambodia and Vietnam accounted for 26.52 percent and 52.74 percent respectively.
Taisun shares fell 1.9 percent to close at NT$132.5 in Taipei trading yesterday, underperforming the benchmark TAIEX, which edged up 0.11 percent to 10,007.84 points.
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