Consumer electronics maker Sampo Corp (聲寶) yesterday said that revenue for this quarter is expected to outpace revenue in the same period last year on the back of robust sales of air-conditioners.
The company’s upbeat outlook comes as domestic sales of energy-efficient household appliances have been booming since June, buoyed by a government incentive scheme that encourages the replacement of older devices in exchange for tax refunds.
Based on figures compiled by the Ministry of Finance, 194,025 “energy-efficient” household appliances were sold in Taiwan from June 15 to Aug. 11, including 142,273 air-conditioners.
During the period, 42,106 refrigerators and 9,646 dehumidifiers were also sold under the scheme, the data showed.
To sustain its sales momentum, Sampo plans to release new televisions, air-conditioners and washing machines next quarter, the company said.
A new production site in Tainan, which cost the company NT$1.2 billion (US$38.28 million), is expected to be completed in the first quarter of next year to produce air-conditioners, refrigerators and washing machines, Sampo spokesman Peter Chiang (江全田) said by telephone.
The plant would also serve as a logistics center for southern Taiwan, Chiang said.
The company’s overall revenue in the first half of the year was under pressure, as most people were waiting for the government’s incentive package for household appliances. That led to cumulative revenue in the first seven months dipping 4.79 percent year-on-year to NT$4.41 billion, the company said.
Thanks to asset disposal gains of NT$362 million from selling a plant in Taichung’s Tanzih District (潭子), second-quarter net income surged 117.32 percent annually and 382.93 percent quarterly to NT$493.29 million, it said.
Earnings per share (EPS) climbed to NT$1.34 from NT$0.49 a year earlier and NT$0.28 in the first quarter. Excluding asset disposal gains, EPS would be just NT$0.44, the company said last week.
Overall, net income surged 77.52 percent annually to NT$595.43 million in the first half of the year, or EPS of NT$1.62.
Sampo plans to sell 7,400 ping (24,463m2) of land in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), as returning Taiwanese companies have shown interest in purchasing it.
“If the land were sold at NT$350,000 per ping, it would have a value of NT$2 billion,” Chiang said, without giving a timeframe for the sale.
It has a rezoning plan for a 44,791 ping plot of land on a Linkou hillside, which is expected to be developed into a high-tech industrial park late next year at the earliest, he said.
It is still seeking developers to build residential housing on 2,700 ping of land in New Taipei’s Tucheng District (土城), the company said.
Sampo is to open its first Ganko (莞固和食) Japanese restaurant in Linkou in October, with plans to open another 14 within three years, it said.
Sampo shares closed up 4.78 percent at NT$17.55 in Taipei trading yesterday.
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