Motorcycle parts supplier Eurocharm Holdings Co (豐祥控股) yesterday forecast its business would perform slightly better this year than last year, as the Cayman Islands-registered company made an impressive trading debut on the local bourse, up 31 percent from its initial public offering (IPO) price.
Analysts say the company, which also produces medical equipment and has recently penetrated the powersports vehicle segment, is poised to benefit from continued growth in Vietnam’s manufacturing economy, as Eurocharm is a leading motorcycle parts contract maker there.
“The trend of global contract manufacturing moving to Vietnam due to lower costs and maturing local supply chains has started to apply to industries such as lower-entry barrier medical equipment and auto parts. Eurocharm is benefiting from the trend and has seen strong orders, with all its capacity located in northern Vietnam,” Yuanta Securities Investment Consulting Co (元大投顧) analyst Yvonne Tsai (蔡昀真) said.
In addition, Eurocharm is likely to benefit from Vietnam’s future free-trade agreements with other countries and Hanoi’s tariff incentives to attract foreign investment, Tsai said in a research note yesterday.
Yesterday, shares in the company reached NT$86 at one point, 48.27 percent higher than its IPO price of NT$58, before easing slightly to close at NT$76, while the broader market fell 0.96 percent.
The firm raised about NT$540.36 million (US$17.83 million) by issuing 7.11 million new shares.
Eurocharm, founded in 1974, has four factories in the Khai Quang Industrial Zone in Vinh Phuc Province and is considering building another factory in Vietnam next quarter to cope with rising orders.
The country accounted for about 83 percent of Eurocharm’s total sales of NT$3.47 billion last year.
With paid-in capital of NT$568.74 million, Eurocharm supplies motorcycles parts to top international brands, including Honda, Yamaha and Piaggio.
The company has also recently entered the powersports vehicle segment, producing parts for premium heavyweight motorcycles and snowmobiles for global leading brand Polaris, with shipments starting later this year.
Analysts say the company is participating in a global outsourcing trend in which the leading motorcycle brands are building their Vietnam factories for exporting goods to other ASEAN markets, while Vietnam aims to model itself after China as a competitive global manufacturing base.
Eurocharm’s sales rose 6.09 percent year-on-year to NT$2.41 billion in the first eight months of the year. In the first half of the year, the company reported a net profit NT$169 million, with earnings per share of NT$2.97.
Eurocharm Holdings chairman Yu Ming-hui (游明輝) yesterday said next quarter’s outlook would be better than in the current quarter, adding that sales for the second half of the year would be higher than the first half.
“Overall business this year should do better than it did last year,” Yu said after the company’s IPO ceremony at the Taiwan Stock Exchange Corp.
SinoPac Securities Investment Service Co (永豐金投顧) forecast the company’s sales this quarter would increase 6.5 percent to NT$942 million from NT$885 million in the second quarter and to NT$1.002 billion next quarter.
Greek tourism student Katerina quit within a month of starting work at a five-star hotel in Halkidiki, one of the country’s top destinations, because she said conditions were so dire. Beyond the bad pay, the 22-year-old said that her working and living conditions were “miserable and unacceptable.” Millions holiday in Greece every year, but its vital tourism industry is finding it harder and harder to recruit Greeks to look after them. “I was asked to work in any department of the hotel where there was a need, from service to cleaning,” said Katerina, a tourism and marketing student, who would
i Gasoline and diesel prices at fuel stations are this week to rise NT$0.1 per liter, as tensions in the Middle East pushed crude oil prices higher last week, CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) said yesterday. International crude oil prices last week rose for the third consecutive week due to an escalating conflict between Israel and Iran, as the market is concerned that the situation in the Middle East might affect crude oil supply, CPC and Formosa said in separate statements. Front-month Brent crude oil futures — the international oil benchmark — rose 3.75 percent to settle at US$77.01
Merida Industry Co (美利達) has seen signs of recovery in the US and European markets this year, as customers are gradually depleting their inventories, the bicycle maker told shareholders yesterday. Given robust growth in new orders at its Taiwanese factory, coupled with its subsidiaries’ improving performance, Merida said it remains confident about the bicycle market’s prospects and expects steady growth in its core business this year. CAUTION ON CHINA However, the company must handle the Chinese market with great caution, as sales of road bikes there have declined significantly, affecting its revenue and profitability, Merida said in a statement, adding that it would
UNCERTAINTIES: The world’s biggest chip packager and tester is closely monitoring the US’ tariff policy before making any capacity adjustments, a company official said ASE Technology Holding Inc (日月光投控), the world’s biggest chip packager and tester, yesterday said it is cautiously evaluating new advanced packaging capacity expansion in the US in response to customers’ requests amid uncertainties about the US’ tariff policy. Compared with its semiconductor peers, ASE has been relatively prudent about building new capacity in the US. However, the company is adjusting its global manufacturing footprint expansion after US President Donald Trump announced “reciprocal” tariffs in April, and new import duties targeting semiconductors and other items that are vital to national security. ASE subsidiary Siliconware Precision Industries Co (SPIL, 矽品精密) is participating in Nvidia
RSS