Footwear maker Pou Chen Corp (寶成工業) last quarter saw its net income soar 42.74 percent to NT$2.92 billion (US$93.3 million), mainly thanks to steady growth from its manufacturing and retail units.
The result represented earnings per share of NT$0.99, with Pou Chen’s investment in Nan Shan Life Insurance Co (南山人壽) contributing NT$0.47 per share, company data showed.
Gross margin for its footwear manufacturing business rose from a year earlier, while overall gross margin weakened to 25.69 percent due to demand changes, it said.
Revenue rose 13.91 percent annually to a record NT$76.62 billion, from NT$67.26 billion, the data showed.
Pou Chen’s footwear manufacturing business underpinned profit, while its real-estate and hotel businesses made up only 0.2 percent, the data showed.
Retail sales contributed 43.6 percent of revenue, up from 39.2 percent in the same quarter last year, as the company’s sales network and per-store annual sales continued to grow, the data showed.
Footwear products are not affected by US tariffs on Chinese goods, as the company has production bases across South and Southeast Asia to lower risk, Pou Chen spokesperson Ho Ming-kun (何明坤) said on Wednesday.
Vietnam accounted for 46 percent of total output, while China made up 14 percent, and Bangladesh and Myanmar each contributed 3 percent, Ho said.
Ruen Chen Investment Holding Co (潤成投資), of which Pou Chen holds a 20 percent stake, posted NT$1.39 billion in non-operating income linked to an investment in Nan Shan Life Insurance Co (南山人壽), the data showed.
Pou Chen’s board of directors on Wednesday approved plans to buy 415,000 shares of Ruen Chen, increasing its paid-in capital by NT$4.15 billion.
The firm indirectly holds 18.13 percent of Nan Shan’s shares.
Pou Chen last quarter also booked NT$1.74 billion in foreign-exchange gains.
The company said it would invest in manufacturing automation and systems integration this year, in addition to focusing on its retail business in Taiwan and China, and expanding sales channels.
Shares of Pou Chen yesterday fell 1.11 percent to close at NT$35.75, but have risen 11.02 percent this year.
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