Yulon Motor Co (裕隆) yesterday posted deeper quarterly losses of NT$1.57 billion (US$51.46 million) last quarter, as mounting economic uncertainty worldwide pared car sales, while assets impairment worsened.
Last quarter’s losses widened from NT$1.19 billion in the second quarter and a net profit of NT$238.52 million in the third quarter last year, the automaker’s financial statement showed.
Yulon attributed the deterioration to higher impairment losses from its own-brand car manufacturing arm Luxgen Motor Co (納智捷), and losses from an overhaul to a residential-commercial complex development project in New Taipei City’s Sindian District (新店).
Aggregate losses in the first three quarters of this year totaled NT$2.36 billion, compared with a net profit of NT$1.12 billion in the same period last year.
Losses per share were NT$1.7 in the first three quarters, compared with earnings per share of NT$1.11 a year earlier.
The Miaoli-based company said it had booked NT$4.5 billion in impairment losses as of Sept. 30 and expects to book more as the value of its automotive molds continue to depreciate, putting the firm at risk of posting full-year losses for the first time in 24 years.
A 10,700 drop in vehicle sales in Taiwan and China contributed to a 4 percent annual decline in revenue to NT$62.83 billion in the first three quarters of this year, Yulon said in a statement.
The sluggish momentum is forecast to extend into this quarter, Yulon said, as overall vehicle sales in Taiwan are predicted to contract 1.9 percent to 415,000 units this year, down from 423,000 last year, due to diminishing replacement demand as well as economic uncertainty ahead of the presidential elections in Taiwan and the US-China trade dispute, it added.
In China, stricter environmental and emission rules have affected vehicle sales this year, which China Association of Automobile Manufacturers forecasts would dip 7.4 percent annually to 26 million units, the lowest since 2015, Yulon said.
However, Yulon Nissan Motor Co (裕隆日產), its car distributing arm, remained a cash cow, reporting a net profit of NT$1.6 billion for last quarter, more than double its earnings of NT$726.25 million in the same period last year.
Earnings per share climbed to NT$6.59 from NT$4.68.
Its net profit in the first three quarters of the year jumped 29.69 percent to NT$4.98 billion from NT$3.84 billion a year earlier.
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