Tong Hsing Electronic Industries Ltd (同欣電子) named Pierre Chen (陳泰銘) as its new chairman on Friday, replacing Kevin Lai (賴錫湖), who is to become vice chairman.
Chen, chairman of Yageo Corp (國巨), the nation’s largest passive components supplier, had been expected by industry insiders to take the helm at the 45-year-old Tong Hsing, which provides microelectronic module assembly and thick-film/thin-film substrate foundry services, as the two companies were in talks to form an alliance to provide a more complete product portfolio and make their services more convenient to customers.
Chen was elected by a new board of directors approved by shareholders at the company’s annual general meeting in Taoyuan.
“Facing the ever-changing international situation, it is a trend to form a national team with a strong partner,” Tong Hsing said in a statement.
The company said that together with Yageo they aim to focus on the development of various automotive, industrial regulation, security control, 5G and Internet of Things applications, according to the statement.
In preparation for capacity expansion, the company earlier this month announced that it acquired an 18,466.87m2 plot of land in Taoyuan’s Bade District (八德) for NT$1.41 billion (US$45.3 million). The company has manufacturing sites in New Taipei City’s Yingge District (鶯歌), Taoyuan’s Longtan District (龍潭) and in the Philippines’ Laguna Province.
A niche semiconductor packaging company, Tong Hsing has exposure to metalized ceramic substrates, the image-sensor back-end business, radio frequency modules and hybrid modules.
Chen takes over as chairman at a time when the company’s annual revenue has declined for two straight years since 2017. In the first five months of this year, revenue dropped 1.33 percent year-on-year to NT$2.88 billion.
Net income in the first quarter fell 27.7 percent to NT$115.24 million, from NT$159.37 million a year earlier, with earnings per share (EPS) falling from NT$0.96 to NT$0.7 over the period, company data showed.
The new board of directors includes Chen, Lai, Kaimei Electronic Corp (凱美電機) chairman Weng Chi-sheng (翁啟勝), Tong Hsing president Heinz Ru (呂紹萍), Hsin Bung International Co (興邦國際) chairwoman Jane Tsai (蔡淑貞) and Kaimei financial director Chen Pen-chi (陳本記).
Three independent directors were also approved by shareholders: Win Semiconductors Corp (穩懋半導體) chairman Dennis Chen (陳進財), Global Strategic Investment Management Inc (全球策略創業投資) chairman George Yang (楊世緘) and Whitesun Equity Partners Ltd (華生資本) chairman David Lin (林宗聖), Tong Hsing said in a regulatory filing.
Shareholders also approved the company’s plan to distribute a cash dividend of NT$6 per share based on last year’s EPS of NT$6.13, which suggested a payout ratio of 97.88 percent.
Tong Hsing shares closed up 1.42 percent to NT$107.5 on Friday in Taipei trading.
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