RETAIL
Breeze eyes profitable year
Breeze Development Co Ltd (微風廣場實業), one of the nation’s biggest department store and shopping complex operators, yesterday said annual sales at its newly-renovated branch on Nanjing E Road could reach NT$2 billion (US$59.65 million) this year. Chief executive officer Henry Liao (廖鎮漢) said that the company is aiming to generate total sales of NT$23 billion this year, citing contributions from new branches. The company reported revenue of NT$13 billion in 2014 and forecast NT$16 billion revenue for last year.
SMARTPHONES
HTC sales plunge
HTC Corp (宏達電) yesterday reported its lowest monthly sales of NT$6.52 billion for last month since October last year, which represented an annual plunge of 57.08 percent and a monthly decline of 36.57 percent due to falling smartphone shipments. In a filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange, the company said revenue last quarter totaled NT$25.74 billion, down 46.21 percent from the previous year, but up 20.28 percent from a quarter earlier. Overall, HTC reported NT$121.68 billion in revenue for the whole of last year.
MANUFACTURING
Sercomm sales up 50%
Sercomm Corp (中磊), the nation’s biggest telecommunications equipment manufacturer, yesterday said its sales for last quarter grew more than 50 percent from a year earlier, sending sales for last year to an all-time high. Supported by rising demand for fiber optical products, cable equipment and Internet of Things devices, Sercomm’s sales for last quarter were NT$9.68 billion, with total sales for last year hitting NT$35 billion.
FOOD AND Drink
Tai Tong sees sales growth
The Tai Tong Food & Beverage Group (TTFB, 瓦城泰統集團), which operates four oriental cuisine chain restaurant brands, yesterday reported that its sales for last month grew 20.62 percent annually to NT$293.41 million, pushing its sales in the fourth quarter of last year to grow more than 20 percent to NT$840.84 million, TTFB said. For the whole of last year, sales totaled NT$3.45 billion, up 18.72 percent from 2014, marking the highest level in the company’s history, according to the company’s Taiwan Stock Exchange filing.
COMPONENTS
Sinopower shares debut
Sinopower Semiconductor Inc (大中積體電路), an IC design house which specializes in power discrete devices and high voltage power IC design, yesterday saw its shares rise 14.58 percent on its debut on the Taipei Exchange. The shares at one point climbed to NT$34 — an 18.06 percent rise from their listing price of NT$28.8 — before retreating to close at NT$33. Sinopower reported sales of NT$140 million last month, up 81.09 percent from a year earlier. Total sales for last year edged up 0.58 percent annually to NT$1.28 billion, company data showed.
MACROECONOMICS
China proposal falls short
The Ministry of Economic Affairs yesterday said China’s proposal of tariff reductions for Taiwan’s agricultural and industrial products during a half-day informal meeting on Wednesday in Beijing had not met Taiwan’s expectation. In an attempt to complete the negotiation of the agreement in the next round of formal talks, a few more rounds of informal negotiations with Beijing might be needed, the ministry said.
China’s economic planning agency yesterday outlined details of measures aimed at boosting the economy, but refrained from major spending initiatives. The piecemeal nature of the plans announced yesterday appeared to disappoint investors who were hoping for bolder moves, and the Shanghai Composite Index gave up a 10 percent initial gain as markets reopened after a weeklong holiday to end 4.59 percent higher, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index dived 9.41 percent. Chinese National Development and Reform Commission Chairman Zheng Shanjie (鄭珊潔) said the government would frontload 100 billion yuan (US$14.2 billion) in spending from the government’s budget for next year in addition
Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD) suffered its biggest stock decline in more than a month after the company unveiled new artificial intelligence (AI) chips, but did not provide hoped-for information on customers or financial performance. The stock slid 4 percent to US$164.18 on Thursday, the biggest single-day drop since Sept. 3. Shares of the company remain up 11 percent this year. AMD has emerged as the biggest contender to Nvidia Corp in the lucrative market of AI processors. The company’s latest chips would exceed some capabilities of its rival, AMD chief executive officer Lisa Su (蘇姿丰) said at an event hosted by
Sales RecORD: Hon Hai’s consolidated sales rose by about 20 percent last quarter, while Largan, another Apple supplier, saw quarterly sales increase by 17 percent IPhone assembler Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) on Saturday reported its highest-ever quarterly sales for the third quarter on the back of solid global demand for artificial intelligence (AI) servers. Hon Hai, also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團) globally, said it posted NT$1.85 trillion (US$57.93 billion) in consolidated sales in the July-to-September quarter, up 19.46 percent from the previous quarter and up 20.15 percent from a year earlier. The figure beat the previous third-quarter high of NT$1.74 trillion recorded in 2022, company data showed. Due to rising demand for AI, Hon Hai said its cloud and networking division enjoyed strong sales
TECH JUGGERNAUT: TSMC shares have more than doubled since ChatGPT’s launch in late 2022, as demand for cutting-edge artificial intelligence chips remains high Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday posted a better-than-expected 39 percent rise in quarterly revenue, assuaging concerns that artificial intelligence (AI) hardware spending is beginning to taper off. The main chipmaker for Nvidia Corp and Apple Inc reported third-quarter sales of NT$759.69 billion (US$23.6 billion), compared with the average analyst projection of NT$748 billion. For last month alone, TSMC reported revenue jumped 39.6 percent year-on-year to NT$251.87 billion. Taiwan’s largest company is to disclose its full third-quarter earnings on Thursday next week and update its outlook. Hsinchu-based TSMC produces the cutting-edge chips needed to train AI. The company now makes more
RSS