AUTOPARTS
Tong Yang sales rise 15%
Automobile parts maker Tong Yang Industry Co (東陽實業) yesterday reported consolidated sales of NT$2.14 billion (US$63.3 million) last month, up 15 percent year-on-year and marking the highest performance in January in its history. The maker of parts such as bumpers and hoods said in a statement that mild growth in North American market and launches of new products, as well as rising demand in Taiwan and China ahead of Lunar New Year holiday, boosted its sales in both the aftermarket (AM) business and original equipment manufacturing (OEM) segments last month. AM sales amounted to NT$1.41 billion last month, up 16 percent from a year earlier, while OEM sales rose 12 percent annually to NT$732 million.
SHIPPING
Wisdom profit down 58.72%
Wisdom Marine Group (慧洋海運集團), one of the nation’s listed bulk shippers, yesterday reported pretax profit of NT$117 million last month, down 58.72 percent from a year earlier, with earnings per share of NT$0.23. Wisdom attributed the decrease to less contribution of non-operating income from ship sales. However, the shipper’s consolidated sales rose 4.06 percent year-on-year to NT$954 million last month, it said in a statement. Wisdom plans to sell two new bulk vessels this month and a total of 10 ships this year.
SEMICONDUCTORS
WT forecasts 6% sales fall
IC distributor WT Microelectronics Co (文曄科技) on Tuesday said it is expecting sales of between NT$25.9 billion and NT$27.5 billion this quarter, from last quarter’s NT$27.58 billion. The firm’s guidance for this quarter forecast sales to fall by up to 6 percent sequentially, which it attributed to the impact of fewer working days this month. Gross margin is also likely to reach between 5.6 percent and 5.8 percent this quarter, compared with 5.66 percent last quarter, while operating margin may range from 2 percent to 2.2 percent, flat from last quarter’s 2.07 percent, the firm said in a statement. WT reported a flat net income of NT$508 million for last quarter, with earnings per share (EPS) of NT$1.13. For the whole of last year, net profit rose 7.95 percent year-on-year to NT$1.98 billion.
ELECTRONICS
Synnex revenue up 16%
Synnex Technology International Corp (聯強), Asia’s largest distributor of information technology products and electronics components, yesterday said its consolidated revenue for last month rose 16 percent to NT$28.7 billion from NT$24.7 billion a year earlier. The company said in a statement that it saw sales in the information technology business rise 14 percent annually to NT$15.7 billion last month, accounting for 55 percent of total revenue. Synnex said semiconductor components sales also expanded by 28 percent year-on-year to NT$7.5 billion last month, contributing 26 percent to the firm’s total revenue. Meanwhile, sales in the communications products rose 5 percent to NT$1.9 billion and consumer electronics sales expanded by 10 percent to NT$3.6 billion, the firm added.
STEELMAKERS
Chien Shing stops trading
Chien Shing Stainless Steel Co (千興) yesterday said its board decided to suspend trading of its shares on the local bourse as it plans to file for restructuring. The company is suffering a cash shortfall and owes NT$1.35 billion in debt repayments in the short term. Chien Shing, which already suspended operations in Tainan’s Madou District (麻豆), will continue operations for up to six months, it said.
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
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