AUTO PARTS
Cub sees net income drop
Cub Elecparts Inc (為升), which makes electric switches and electric sensors for cars, yesterday reported that net income last year decreased 9.3 percent year-on-year to NT$1.01 billion (US$34.45 million), with earnings per share (EPS) of NT$10, down from NT$12.14 the previous year. Gross margin also dropped by 1.04 percentage points to 53.25 percent, while revenue rose 3 percent to NT$3.52 billion, the company said. The company said its board has approved the distribution of a cash dividend of NT$8.8 per common share, with a payout ratio of 88 percent.
SEMICONDUCTORS
Holtek plans NT$4.1 payout
Holtek Semiconductor Inc (盛群半導體), the nation’s largest designer of microcontroller units for consumer electronics, yesterday said its board has approved a cash dividend of NT$4.1 per common share, representing a payout ratio of 100 percent based on last year’s EPS of NT$4.1. Based on yesterday’s closing share price of NT$81.7, Holtek’s proposed cash dividend translates into a dividend yield of 5.02 percent. The company is to hold an annual general meeting on May 28 in Hsinchu Science Park (新竹科學園區), where shareholders are to vote on the dividend proposal.
TEXTILES
Tah Tong banks on land sale
Tah Tong Textile Co Ltd (大東紡織), which makes yarns and fabrics, expects to book a real-estate disposal gain of NT$1.1 billion in the second quarter of this year at the earliest from the sale of a plot of land in Taichung, the company said yesterday in a filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange. Tah Tong said it would sell the land for NT$1.9 billion to a subsidiary of Yi Jinn Industrial Co Ltd (宜進), another Taiwanese yarn maker. The gain from the sale would be used to replenish operating capital and repay bank debts, it said. Tah Tong chairman Steven Chen (陳修忠) said the sale, coupled with expanded production at the company’s Vietnamese plant, would help it swing into profit this year.
SHIPPING
Evergreen goes paperless
Evergreen Marine Corp (長榮海運), Taiwan’s largest container shipping company, yesterday announced that it has upgraded to a paperless bill of lading and dispatch documentation system by partnering with London-headquartered software solutions provider Bolero International Ltd. The system enhances connectivity for exporters and importers with banks, insurers, regulators, customs and port authorities, Evergreen said in a statement. It is expected to speed up cash flow and processing times, while helping to avoid loss, fraudulent copying and errors that are associated with paper documents, as well as provide encrypted data transmission, it said.
SEMICONDUCTORS
Marketech decides dividend
Marketech International Corp (帆宣系統科技), which provides facility engineering and equipment to semiconductor and flat-panel manufacturers, on Wednesday said its board has approved a cash dividend of NT$2.5, based on last year’s EPS of NT$3.77 — its highest in 13 years. Citing institutional investors’ estimates, the Chinese-language Commercial Times yesterday said Marketech’s EPS might top NT$4 and reach a high of NT$4.5 this year, as the firm’s orders on hand for this year have exceeded NT$16 billion and it has tapped into related equipment supply chains with organic LED panels and ultraviolet lithography systems.
Taiwan will prioritize the development of silicon photonics by taking advantage of its strength in the semiconductor industry to build another shield to protect the local economy, National Development Council (NDC) Minister Paul Liu (劉鏡清) said yesterday. Speaking at a meeting of the legislature’s Economics Committee, Liu said Taiwan already has the artificial intelligence (AI) industry as a shield, after the semiconductor industry, to safeguard the country, and is looking at new unique fields to build more economic shields. While Taiwan will further strengthen its existing shields, over the longer term, the country is determined to focus on such potential segments as
UNCERTAINTY: Innolux activated a stringent supply chain management mechanism, as it did during the COVID-19 pandemic, to ensure optimal inventory levels for customers Flat-panel display makers AUO Corp (友達) and Innolux Corp (群創) yesterday said that about 12 to 20 percent of their display business is at risk of potential US tariffs and that they would relocate production or shipment destinations to mitigate the levies’ effects. US tariffs would have a direct impact of US$200 million on AUO’s revenue, company chairman Paul Peng (彭雙浪) told reporters on the sidelines of the Touch Taiwan trade show in Taipei yesterday. That would make up about 12 percent of the company’s overall revenue. To cope with the tariff uncertainty, AUO plans to allocate its production to manufacturing facilities in
COLLABORATION: Given Taiwan’s key position in global supply chains, the US firm is discussing strategies with local partners and clients to deal with global uncertainties Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD) yesterday said it is meeting with local ecosystem partners, including Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), to discuss strategies, including long-term manufacturing, to navigate uncertainties such as US tariffs, as Taiwan occupies an important position in global supply chains. AMD chief executive officer Lisa Su (蘇姿丰) told reporters that Taiwan is an important part of the chip designer’s ecosystem and she is discussing with partners and customers in Taiwan to forge strong collaborations on different areas during this critical period. AMD has just become the first artificial-intelligence (AI) server chip customer of TSMC to utilize its advanced
Chizuko Kimura has become the first female sushi chef in the world to win a Michelin star, fulfilling a promise she made to her dying husband to continue his legacy. The 54-year-old Japanese chef regained the Michelin star her late husband, Shunei Kimura, won three years ago for their Sushi Shunei restaurant in Paris. For Shunei Kimura, the star was a dream come true. However, the joy was short-lived. He died from cancer just three months later in June 2022. He was 65. The following year, the restaurant in the heart of Montmartre lost its star rating. Chizuko Kimura insisted that the new star is still down
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