Machinery maker Hiwin Technologies Co (上銀科技) on Tuesday last week reported that sales for the first two months increased 54.47 percent from the period last year, accelerating from a 34.06 percent annual increase in December last year.
Thanks to strong market demand, the company’s cumulative sales from January to last month totaled NT$4.17 billion (US$142.3 million), Hiwin said in a filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange, exceeding market expectations that the Lunar New Year holiday disruption could weigh on business.
The market’s tight supply and demand conditions would enable Hiwin to maintain strong business growth this year, analysts said.
The sales growth was mainly catalyzed by surging orders related to semiconductors, automobiles, optoelectronics, machine tools and other sectors, Capital Investment Management Corp (群益投顧) said.
In addition, the company’s efforts to encourage employees to work overtime during the holiday by providing overtime pay and high bonuses helped it retain sales momentum, Capital Investment said in a note on Wednesday last week.
“Due to ballscrew and linear guideway shortages, the market’s robust demand might persist into the second half of this year,” Capital Investment said. “Hiwin’s first-quarter revenue and earnings momentum appears positive, while revenue and earnings might continue rising.”
Meanwhile, Hiwin said it has won a civil lawsuit against Tianjin Ace Pillar Co (天津羅昇), one of its major distributors in China, at the Tianjin Higher People’s Court and the Beijing Supreme People’s Court, adding that it has recovered all accounts receivable and delayed interest worth 62.35 million yuan (US$9.85 million) from the Chinese firm.
There are still some overdue penalties that would be recognized as other income depending on the actual recollected amount, Hiwin said in its filing with the exchange.
Hiwin shares closed at NT$387.5 in Taipei trading on Friday. They have risen 21.89 percent since the beginning of the year, exchange data showed.
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