TAIEX loses ground
The TAIEX lost ground yesterday as selling focused on local suppliers to Apple Inc after it was reported that the US electronics giant had cut back orders for its iPhone 5 panels, dealers said.
The weakness of the so-call “Apple concept stocks” also drove investors to dump other large-cap electronics stocks amid concerns over a rising New Taiwan dollar, which could affect the high-tech sector’s profitability, dealers said.
The weighted index closed down 58.95 points, or 0.75 percent, at 7,765.02, on turnover of NT$91.39 billion (US$3.15 billion).
Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海), which generates about 40 percent of its contract manufacturing services from Apple, closed down 3.44 percent at NT$84.20. Metal casing maker Foxconn Technology Co (鴻準) fell 3.16 percent to end at NT$85.80 and its rival, Catcher Technology Co (可成), lost 3.38 percent to close at NT$128.50. Smartphone camera lens manufacturer Genius Electronic Optical Co (玉晶光) shed 2.18 percent to end at NT$201.50.
Profits fall at garment firm
Tainan Enterprise Co (台南企業) yesterday said its net profit fell 52.44 percent from a year ago to NT$267.38 million last year, or earnings per share of NT$1.82, due to losses at garment brands in China.
Last year, the company reported losses of NT$121.25 million from its investment in Tainan Enterprise (Cayman) Co, which is focused at developing Tony Wear and Emely brand businesses in China.
Consolidated revenue reached NT$895.55 billion last year, down 26.04 percent from 2011, Tainan Enterprise said in a filing to the Taiwan Stock Exchange.
Sony eyes smartphone segment
Sony Mobile Communications International AB, the handset unit of Japan’s Sony Corp, said on Monday that it will focus on its premium smartphone segment in Taiwan this year, in a bid to boost its market share.
The company was confident of becoming Taiwan’s second-largest smartphone vendor based on revenue this year, moving a spot higher from last year, Sony Mobile Taiwan general manager Jonathan Lin (林志遠) said.
“We will stress the premium market this year,” Lin said at the launch of the Sony Xperia Z flagship phone.
He added that high-end smartphones were selling better in Taiwan than most other countries.
Lin estimated that the total revenue generated by smartphone vendors in Taiwan would reach NT$56 billion a year, based on estimated annual shipments of 7 million units and an average selling price of NT$8,000.
China Mobile boss to visit
China Mobile Ltd (中國移動通信) chief executive officer Li Yue (李躍) is scheduled to visit Taipei this week for a summit on cooperation in 4G technology.
Li will participate tomorrow’s summit held by China Mobile and Taiwan’s state-funded Industrial Technology Research Institute, giving a talk on cross-strait cooperation on mobile broadband services on the Time Division Duplex (TDD) spectrum.
During his visit, Li will meet several of Taiwan’s technology tycoons, including Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) chairman Morris Chang (張忠謀), Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海) chairman Terry Gou (郭台銘), HTC Corp (宏達電) chairwoman Cher Wang (王雪紅) and MediaTek Inc (聯發科) chairman Tsai Ming-kai (蔡明介).
NT dollar gains on greenback
The New Taiwan gained ground against the US dollar yesterday, adding NT$0.002 to close at NT$29.056.
Turnover totaled US$664 million during the trading session.
SEMICONDUCTORS: The German laser and plasma generator company will expand its local services as its specialized offerings support Taiwan’s semiconductor industries Trumpf SE + Co KG, a global leader in supplying laser technology and plasma generators used in chip production, is expanding its investments in Taiwan in an effort to deeply integrate into the global semiconductor supply chain in the pursuit of growth. The company, headquartered in Ditzingen, Germany, has invested significantly in a newly inaugurated regional technical center for plasma generators in Taoyuan, its latest expansion in Taiwan after being engaged in various industries for more than 25 years. The center, the first of its kind Trumpf built outside Germany, aims to serve customers from Taiwan, Japan, Southeast Asia and South Korea,
Gasoline and diesel prices at domestic fuel stations are to fall NT$0.2 per liter this week, down for a second consecutive week, CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) announced yesterday. Effective today, gasoline prices at CPC and Formosa stations are to drop to NT$26.4, NT$27.9 and NT$29.9 per liter for 92, 95 and 98-octane unleaded gasoline respectively, the companies said in separate statements. The price of premium diesel is to fall to NT$24.8 per liter at CPC stations and NT$24.6 at Formosa pumps, they said. The price adjustments came even as international crude oil prices rose last week, as traders
SIZE MATTERS: TSMC started phasing out 8-inch wafer production last year, while Samsung is more aggressively retiring 8-inch capacity, TrendForce said Chipmakers are expected to raise prices of 8-inch wafers by up to 20 percent this year on concern over supply constraints as major contract chipmakers Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and Samsung Electronics Co gradually retire less advanced wafer capacity, TrendForce Corp (集邦科技) said yesterday. It is the first significant across-the-board price hike since a global semiconductor correction in 2023, the Taipei-based market researcher said in a report. Global 8-inch wafer capacity slid 0.3 percent year-on-year last year, although 8-inch wafer prices still hovered at relatively stable levels throughout the year, TrendForce said. The downward trend is expected to continue this year,
POWERING UP: PSUs for AI servers made up about 50% of Delta’s total server PSU revenue during the first three quarters of last year, the company said Power supply and electronic components maker Delta Electronics Inc (台達電) reported record-high revenue of NT$161.61 billion (US$5.11 billion) for last quarter and said it remains positive about this quarter. Last quarter’s figure was up 7.6 percent from the previous quarter and 41.51 percent higher than a year earlier, and largely in line with Yuanta Securities Investment Consulting Co’s (元大投顧) forecast of NT$160 billion. Delta’s annual revenue last year rose 31.76 percent year-on-year to NT$554.89 billion, also a record high for the company. Its strong performance reflected continued demand for high-performance power solutions and advanced liquid-cooling products used in artificial intelligence (AI) data centers,
RSS