Home appliance supplier Taiwan Sanyo Electric (三洋電) yesterday said that sales in the second half of the year have held steady so far and could stay flat, aided by new home appliance releases.
“As of yesterday, sales have made up for the decline in the first half,” company manager Lin Chen-sheng (林陳勝) told an investors’ conference in Taipei.
Revenue for last month declined 10.95 percent annually and 6.14 percent monthly to NT$460.46 million (US$14.81 million), while cumulative revenue in the first half fell 2.25 percent year-on-year to NT$2.68 billion, company data showed.
Air-conditioner sales dropped 12.74 percent year-on-year and displays decreased 13.85 percent annually in the first six months, but sales of refrigerators and washers increased 11.79 percent and 16.02 percent respectively, the company said.
Air-conditioners contributed 40.75 percent of total home appliance sales, refrigerators and freezers 23.09 percent, washing machines 20.59 percent and displays 5.24 percent, while other products made up the remainder, it said.
“Recent rains lowered temperatures and weakened demand for air-conditioners, while the benefit of tax credit is not evident yet,” Taiwan Sanyo Electric spokesman Lin Chang-hui (林張惠) said.
The government has introduced a stimulus measure offering up to NT$2,000 on purchases of energy-efficient refrigerators, air-conditioners and dehumidifiers to help boost domestic demand.
The company said it expects sales to be flat from last year, but contribution from refrigerators and washers should grow this quarter.
New and smaller washers with the same capacity as bigger ones, and next-generation refrigerators would enter the market next quarter, it said.
Home appliances accounted for 95.14 percent of sales last year, while lease income contributed 4.38 percent, with the remaining 0.48 percent coming from other areas, the company said.
Taiwan Sanyo Electric is awaiting regulatory approval to turn its factory of 23,031 ping (76,136m2) in New Taipei City’s Taishan District (泰山區) into mixed-use buildings.
It declined to comment on potential profits.
The company then plans move its production lines to Kaohsiung’s Benjhou Industrial Park (本洲工業區) and lease idle space to a logistics company next year.
That would generate about NT$30 million in rent a year.
Taiwan Sanyo Electric shares yesterday closed down 0.17 percent at NT$28.6 in Taipei trading. The shares have risen 27.68 percent so far this year.
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