Vinyl flooring manufacturer M.J. International Co Ltd yesterday gave a positive business outlook for the coming quarters on higher revenue contribution from the Chinese market.
China contributed 3.82 percent to the firm’s total sales last year, compared with only 1.41 percent the previous year, and M.J. International aims to expand the figure to 5 percent this year, a company official said.
M.J. International last quarter launched new office flooring products for the Chinese market under its self-owned brands MeiJer and Prolong, the company said.
The company is also considering further expansion of its footprints in the Japanese and US markets this year, it said without elaborating.
Incorporated in the Cayman Islands, the company provides luxury vinyl floor tiles to customers in more than 30 countries, with a nearly 10 percent global market share.
Europe remained the company’s largest revenue contributor last year, generating 59 percent of total revenue, while sales in Taiwan and the US accounted for 25 percent and 5 percent respectively.
In the first quarter, M.J. International saw its net profit plunge 33.29 percent from NT$154.4 million (NT$5.13 million) the previous year to NT$103 million, with operating income falling 20 percent from NT$185.6 million to NT$148.5 million.
Sales in the first three months of the year fell 0.88 percent from NT$854.8 million in the same period last year to NT$847.3 million, according to a company filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange.
The company blamed the decline on rising costs of polyvinyl chloride and foreign-exchange losses of NT$31 million due to a strong New Taiwan dollar.
Shareholders yesterday approved the distribution of a cash dividend of NT$7 per share on last year’s record-high profit of NT$569.8 million, or earnings per share of NT$9.5.
With the company’s stock price closing at NT$117.5 in Taipei trading yesterday, the dividend indicated a yield of nearly 5.6 percent.
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