An executive of Taiwan Stock Exchange Corp (TWSE, 台灣證交所) said yesterday that riding the wave of the growing economy, companies listed on the local main board are expected to post record high net profits this year.
TWSE chairman Schive Chi (薛琦) said the combined net profit to be posted by listed companies this year is likely to exceed NT$1.4 trillion (US$46 billion), which would represent a record high.
Schive said listed companies registered NT$732.59 billion in net profit in the first nine months of the year, representing 91.6 percent of the figure posted for the whole of last year.
He said the dividend yield is expected to top 4 percent this year on improving bottom lines, higher than the 2.76 percent recorded last year.
AMONG THE HIGHEST
He said the estimated 4 percent is among the highest in major markets in Asia and the West.
In the first three quarters of this year, the dividend yield stood at 3.92 percent, he said.
As of the end of last month, a total of 743 companies were listed on the local bourse.
Schive made the comments in a main board listing ceremony for LED lighting firm Edison Opto Corp (艾笛森光電).
Bucking the downtrend on the broader market, Edison shares rose 27.3 percent to NT$137.5 yesterday, with 6.64 million shares changing hands, on optimism over the company’s bottom line in the fast-growing LED lighting market, dealers said.
The benchmark TAIEX fell 1.43 percent to 8,316.05 on renewed concerns over the global economy after further European debt problems surfaced in Ireland.
Edison provides LED lighting for a wide range of applications, including street lighting, interior lighting and stage lighting.
The company last year posted NT$325.12 million in net profit, up from NT$149.92 million recorded in 2008, with earnings per share (EPS) of NT$4.23.
In the first three quarters of this year, Edison’s net profit reached NT$440.47 million, with EPS of NT$5.70.
WIDE EXPECTATIONS
“There are wide market expectations that Edison’s EPS for 2010 will rise to no less than NT$7,” Grand Cathay Securities (大華證券) analyst Mars Hsu (徐振家) said. “The growing profitability, which is based on advanced production technology, has prompted investors to chase the shares.”
Hsu said Edison’s listing price of NT$108 fails to reflect the fundamentals, adding that it is possible the share price would rise to about NT$140.
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