Shares of Coremax Corp (康普), which manufactures petrochemical catalysts and electronic materials, yesterday rose 6.09 percent to NT$122 on its debut on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE).
At one point in the morning session, the stock reached NT$124.
The company, which transferred its listing from the Taipei Exchange to the Taiwan Stock Exchange, has paid-in capital of NT$757.98 million (US$25.26 million).
Founded in 1992, Hsinchu County-based Coremax produces a wide range of specialty chemicals and materials, including raw materials for batteries and catalysts used in organic oxidation.
The firm’s major customers in the auto industry include US-based electric carmaker Tesla Inc.
Eyeing long-term potential in the global electric vehicle market, the company has been shifting its business focus from diversified products to special materials for batteries used in electric cars.
Revenue from battery-related materials accounted for nearly 30 percent of the company’s total sales last quarter, compared with 23 percent in 2014, a Coremax investor relations official said by telephone yesterday.
Coremax is to spend US$6 million on an expansion project at its plant in Miaoli County to meet growing demand for car batteries, president and chairman Ho Chi-cheng (何基丞) said at a listing ceremony yesterday.
Some benchmark car brands are also expanding their footprints in the electric vehicle sector, Ho added, citing Toyota Motor Corp and General Motors Co as examples.
The ongoing expansion plan would boost the company’s capacity for nickel sulfate from nearly 1,200 tonnes to 2,700 tonnes per month, Coremax said.
Construction is scheduled to be completed this month and a new production line is scheduled to begin mass production in the fourth quarter, the company said.
The new line would contribute to the company’s revenue more significantly next year after obtaining certification from global clients, it said.
Coremax posted a net profit of NT$171.8 million for the first half of this year, representing a 4.2 percent increase from the NT$164.9 million it posted in the same period last year.
That translated into earnings of NT$2.36 per share, compared with NT$2.31 a year earlier.
Revenue in the first six months of this year rose 21.3 percent to NT$2.36 billion from NT$1.94 billion. Gross margin jumped to 14.2 percent from 8.67 percent.
The company attributed the improvement to rising nickel prices, which lifted global prices of chemical products.
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