■PHARMACEUTICALS
Roche profits drop 22%
Swiss pharmaceutical giant Roche yesterday said its net profit fell 22 percent last year as a result of its buyout of US biotechnology unit Genentech. The Basel-based group saw net profit for last year sink to 8.5 billion Swiss francs (US$8.1 billion) against SF$10.8 billion in 2008, sales were also up 8 percent at US$49 billion for the past 12 months, it said in a statement. Despite an expected slump in sales of the anti-swine flu drug Tamiflu this year, Roche expected a growth in sales of around 5 percent for this year.
■AUTOMOBILES
Honda profits soar
Honda Motor, Japan’s second-largest automaker, said yesterday its profits soared almost seven-fold in the latest quarter from a year earlier, helped by increased sales in India and China. Honda posted a better-than-expected net profit of ¥134.6 billion (US$1.5 billion) for the fiscal third quarter through December, up from ¥20.2 billion in the same period of the previous year. For the full financial year that ends next month, Honda raised its net profit projection to ¥265 billion from ¥155 billion, and its revenue target to ¥8.53 trillion from ¥8.45 trillion. Also with robust sales in the rest of Asia, cost-cutting helped to boost the group’s bottom line. Honda was the only one of Japan’s top three automakers to post a profit for the financial year, outperforming Toyota and Nissan, which suffered heavy losses.
■ELECTRONICS
Sharp losses decline
Japan’s Sharp Corp, one of the biggest makers of flat-panel TVs, narrowed its losses during the first nine months of the fiscal year, because of lower operating costs and reduced restructuring expenses. The company booked a net loss of ¥8.59 billion for the April-to-December period, much smaller than a ¥37.81 billion loss a year earlier, it said yesterday. The better showing came despite revenue falling 12 percent to ¥2.02 trillion from ¥2.30 trillion. The company said demand in China was recovering because of economic measures there, but the situation remained bleak in Japan, the US and Europe.
■APPLIANCES
Electrolux posts profit
Swedish appliance maker Electrolux AB yesterday said it made a profit of 664 million kronor (US$92 million) in the fourth quarter, boosted mainly by price increases on its products as well as previously made cost cuts. Despite continued weak market demand, the result was an improvement from last year’s loss of 474 million kronor, when the company was hit by soaring expenses. The group, headquartered in Stockholm, reported fourth-quarter revenues of 28.2 billion kronor, down slightly from 28.7 billion kronor in the same three months a year ago. For the full year last year, net profit came to 2.6 billion kronor.
■AVIATION
Airbus expects orders
Asia-Pacific airlines are expected to purchase some 8,000 new passenger and cargo planes worth US$1.2 trillion from last year to 2028, Airbus officials said yesterday. The demand represents one-third of predicted global deliveries during the period, and much of it will be for larger aircraft such as the A380 super jumbo, the European manufacturer said in a statement at the Singapore Airshow. “To meet this demand, larger aircraft will be needed to ease congestion and do more with less,” John Leahy, Airbus’ chief operating officer for customers, said in the statement.
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source