BEVERAGES
La Kaffa profit surges 150%
La Kaffa International Co (六角國際), which owns bubble milk tea brand Chatime (日出茶太), yesterday reported that net income last quarter surged 150.31 percent and operating income increased 87.9 percent to NT$127 million and NT$193 million (US$4.17 million and US$6.34 million) respectively. Earnings per share reached NT$3.18, the highest for a single quarter in the company’s history, it said, adding that revenue rose 24.29 percent to NT$1.37 billion from a year earlier. La Kaffa attributed the strong results to stable store expansion, partnerships with food delivery services and better control of operating expenses. In the first three quarters of this year, earnings per share rose to NT$7.72, the highest ever for the period.
COSMETICS
Chlitina revenue up on China
Chlitina Holding Ltd (麗豐), which makes and sells cosmetics and skincare products, yesterday said that a steady increase in the number of its beauty salon franchises in China last month boosted revenue by 7.26 percent year-on-year to NT$441.33 million. Revenue also grew on the back of seasonal demand and effective marketing of its products, Chlitina said in an e-mailed statement. Worldwide, the company operates 4,793 franchisees, a net increase of 314 from the end of last year, the company said. In the first 10 months of the year, cumulative revenue grew 14.02 percent to NT$4.16 billion from a year earlier, it said.
MANUFACTURING
Flooring maker profit rockets
Flooring supplier M.J. International Co Ltd (美喆) yesterday reported that net income last quarter surged 45.29 percent year-on-year to NT$75 million, or earnings per share of NT$1.14, while revenue rose 14.04 percent annually to NT$830 million, which it attributed to higher factory utilization amid growth in its original design manufacturing and brand-name businesses. Thanks to a better product mix and higher factory utilization, gross margin climbed 4.06 percentage points to 26.4 percent and operating margin improved 4.58 percentage points to 13.41 percent, the company said in a statement.
TEXTILES
Eclat, Makalot revenues fall
Major textile and garment manufacturers Eclat Textile Co (儒鴻) and Makalot Industrial Co (聚陽) yesterday reported lower revenue for last month, but both said that revenue for this quarter would still grow annually, with sales growth to accelerate next year. Eclat’s revenue decreased 1.98 percent year-on-year to NT$2.65 billion, but cumulative revenue in the first 10 months of the year rose 1.35 percent to NT$23.03 billion, it said in a regulatory filing. Makalot also saw revenue drop 0.35 percent annually to NT$2.24 billion, while cumulative revenue from January to last month increased 13.77 percent to NT$22.84 billion from a year earlier, it said in a separate filing.
PC MAKERS
Acer net profit jumps 29%
Acer Inc (宏碁) on Tuesday posted net profit of NT$1.18 billion for last quarter, a 29.05 percent increase from NT$912 million in the same quarter last year. Earnings per share rose from NT$0.3 to NT$0.39, the highest in eight quarters. The company attributed the increase to higher nonoperating income, which soared from NT$17 million to NT$790 million over the period. However, revenue declined 3.8 percent to NT$62.87 billion. Acer said that it is continuing to develop its multi-business strategy through its subsidiaries.
Taiwan Transport and Storage Corp (TTS, 台灣通運倉儲) yesterday unveiled its first electric tractor unit — manufactured by Volvo Trucks — in a ceremony in Taipei, and said the unit would soon be used to transport cement produced by Taiwan Cement Corp (TCC, 台灣水泥). Both TTS and TCC belong to TCC International Holdings Ltd (台泥國際集團). With the electric tractor unit, the Taipei-based cement firm would become the first in Taiwan to use electric vehicles to transport construction materials. TTS chairman Koo Kung-yi (辜公怡), Volvo Trucks vice president of sales and marketing Johan Selven, TCC president Roman Cheng (程耀輝) and Taikoo Motors Group
Among the rows of vibrators, rubber torsos and leather harnesses at a Chinese sex toys exhibition in Shanghai this weekend, the beginnings of an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven shift in the industry quietly pulsed. China manufactures about 70 percent of the world’s sex toys, most of it the “hardware” on display at the fair — whether that be technicolor tentacled dildos or hyper-realistic personalized silicone dolls. Yet smart toys have been rising in popularity for some time. Many major European and US brands already offer tech-enhanced products that can enable long-distance love, monitor well-being and even bring people one step closer to
RECORD-BREAKING: TSMC’s net profit last quarter beat market expectations by expanding 8.9% and it was the best first-quarter profit in the chipmaker’s history Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), which counts Nvidia Corp as a key customer, yesterday said that artificial intelligence (AI) server chip revenue is set to more than double this year from last year amid rising demand. The chipmaker expects the growth momentum to continue in the next five years with an annual compound growth rate of 50 percent, TSMC chief executive officer C.C. Wei (魏哲家) told investors yesterday. By 2028, AI chips’ contribution to revenue would climb to about 20 percent from a percentage in the low teens, Wei said. “Almost all the AI innovators are working with TSMC to address the
FUTURE PLANS: Although the electric vehicle market is getting more competitive, Hon Hai would stick to its goal of seizing a 5 percent share globally, Young Liu said Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), a major iPhone assembler and supplier of artificial intelligence (AI) servers powered by Nvidia Corp’s chips, yesterday said it has introduced a rotating chief executive structure as part of the company’s efforts to cultivate future leaders and to enhance corporate governance. The 50-year-old contract electronics maker reported sizable revenue of NT$6.16 trillion (US$189.67 billion) last year. Hon Hai, also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), has been under the control of one man almost since its inception. A rotating CEO system is a rarity among Taiwanese businesses. Hon Hai has given leaders of the company’s six