Taiwanese electronics manufacturer Qisda (佳世達) yesterday reported a net loss of NT$2.15 billion (US$63.15 million) for the first quarter, a slight improvement of 2.7 percent from the previous quarter’s NT$3.61 billion net loss.
Management said the second quarter has witnessed positive operating income and financial liabilities were reduced to NT$11.8 billion.
The company experienced a 27 percent quarter-on-quarter drop in revenues to NT$18.02 billion for the first three months of the year.
As the contract maker of electronics struggles to turn a profit, Qisda’s president and chief executive officer Hsiung Hui (熊暉) said the firm is focused on developing products with high profit margins such as mini camera scanners, professional billboard displays and all-in-one PC touchscreen monitors, while continuing cost cutting efforts.
Such products will not add to sales until later this year or early next year, Hsiung told investors yesterday.
Without giving specific revenue or earnings guidance, Qisda vice president and chief financial officer David Wang (王淡如) said, despite weak macroeconomic conditions and seasonality, “for the second quarter, we can reasonably expect the same performance as for the first quarter, while year-on-year, we hope to see an improvement in unit shipment numbers.”
After a wave of rush orders in late February boosted sales last month, Wang was not expecting last-minute orders this month, in June or July, he said.
Last year Qisda ranked fourth globally, with 8.3 percent market share in monitor production, and third in the projector business with a 12 percent market share.
Hsiung said that even though the monitor business contributed 78 percent of the company’s bottom line in the first quarter, “the monitor playing field is saturated with numerous competitors. In the projector segment, there is still room for growth and to increase worldwide market share.”
Qisda invested NT$40 million in an LCD TV joint venture with AU Optronics Corp (友達光電) in September, but Hsiung said he does not expect the new venture to be profitable in its first year.
PROTECTIONISM: China hopes to help domestic chipmakers gain more market share while preparing local tech companies for the possibility of more US sanctions Beijing is stepping up pressure on Chinese companies to buy locally produced artificial intelligence (AI) chips instead of Nvidia Corp products, part of the nation’s effort to expand its semiconductor industry and counter US sanctions. Chinese regulators have been discouraging companies from purchasing Nvidia’s H20 chips, which are used to develop and run AI models, sources familiar with the matter said. The policy has taken the form of guidance rather than an outright ban, as Beijing wants to avoid handicapping its own AI start-ups and escalating tensions with the US, said the sources, who asked not to be identified because the
Taipei is today suspending its US$2.5 trillion stock market as Super Typhoon Krathon approaches Taiwan with strong winds and heavy rain. The nation is not conducting securities, currency or fixed-income trading, statements from its stock and currency exchanges said. Yesterday, schools and offices were closed in several cities and counties in southern and eastern Taiwan, including in the key industrial port city of Kaohsiung. Taiwan, which started canceling flights, ship sailings and some train services earlier this week, has wind and rain advisories in place for much of the island. It regularly experiences typhoons, and in July shut offices and schools as
Her white-gloved, waistcoated uniform impeccable, 22-year-old Hazuki Okuno boards a bullet train replica to rehearse the strict protocols behind the smooth operation of a Japanese institution turning 60 Tuesday. High-speed Shinkansen trains began running between Tokyo and Osaka on Oct. 1, 1964, heralding a new era for rail travel as Japan grew into an economic superpower after World War II. The service remains integral to the nation’s economy and way of life — so keeping it dazzlingly clean, punctual and accident-free is a serious job. At a 10-story, state-of-the-art staff training center, Okuno shouted from the window and signaled to imaginary colleagues, keeping
FALLING BEHIND: Samsung shares have declined more than 20 percent this year, as the world’s largest chipmaker struggles in key markets and plays catch-up to rival SK Hynix Samsung Electronics Co is laying off workers in Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand as part of a plan to reduce its global headcount by thousands of jobs, sources familiar with the situation said. The layoffs could affect about 10 percent of its workforces in those markets, although the numbers for each subsidiary might vary, said one of the sources, who asked not to be named because the matter is private. Job cuts are planned for other overseas subsidiaries and could reach 10 percent in certain markets, the source said. The South Korean company has about 147,000 in staff overseas, more than half
RSS