LCD panel maker Chunghwa Picture Tubes Ltd (CPT, 中華映管) yesterday said it plans to apply to the Taoyuan District Court to implement restructuring aimed at keeping it afloat.
“The company and its subsidiary, Chunghwa Picture Tubes (Bermuda) Ltd (華映百慕達), are unable to repay debts,” CPT chief financial officer Huang Shi-chang (黃世昌) told a media briefing.
“The company is facing the imminent risk of a shutdown in light of its worsening financial position,” Huang said. “The company plans to submit a restructuring plan to protect company assets and to keep the company afloat.”
CPT attributed oversupply and effects of US-China trade tensions to declines in panel prices.
The debt-ridden panel maker said that as of Nov. 30 it owed NT$12.7 billion (US$411.67 million) in loans to lenders, including Bank of Taiwan (台灣銀行) and King’s Town Bank (京城銀行).
The panel maker posted losses of NT$6.04 billion for the first three quarters, reversing net profits of NT$3.08 billion for the same period last year.
As of Sept. 30, CPT posted NT$84.51 billion in total liabilities, representing a 63.68 percent debt-to-equity ratio, the company said in a filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange yesterday.
That was worse than the company’s total liability of NT$77.35 billion as of last year, which translated to a 57.6 percent debt-to-equity ratio.
The company’s book value was driven to as low as NT$1.44 per share as of the end of September.
CPT said it has been trying hard to diversify to make automotive displays and displays for industrial devices, which have a better margin than mobile phone displays.
CPT’s parent company, Tatung Co (大同), said it would assess the impact if CPT were to file for insolvency.
Tatung’s solar wafer subsidiary, Green Energy Technology Inc (綠能科技), yesterday also said it is to implement restructuring due to long-term losses.
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