BANKING
Banks’ profitability drops
Local banks last year posted declines in return on assets (ROA) and return on equity (ROE) for the third straight year, the Financial Supervisory Commission said on Thursday. Banks’ ROA and ROE came in at 0.67 percent and 8.97 percent respectively, falling by 0.01 and 0.26 percentage points from the previous year, as assets expansion outpaced growth in profitability, the commission said. A surge in penalties for infractions at home and abroad over the past three years also contributed to the decline, it said. ROA dropped to a six-year low, while ROE slid to an eight-year low, it added.
ENERGY
Swancor, FPG firms team up
Resin manufacturer and wind farm developer Swancor Holding Co (上緯) on Thursday said it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with two Formosa Plastics Group (FPG, 台塑集團) members to develop a local supply chain for offshore wind farms. Formosa Plastics Corp (台塑) and Formosa Heavy Industries Corp (台朔重工) are to produce materials used in turbine blades and underwater structure of wind turbines respectively for Swancor’s ongoing projects, the company said in a statement. Swancor has been working on its offshore energy project since 2013, with business partners including Sydney-headquartered Macquarie Capital Ltd and Denmark-based Orsted A/S.
MEDIA
VHQ plans to raise NT$740m
Singapore-based VHQ Media Holdings Ltd plans to raise capital of NT$740 million (US$25.26 million) through the issuance of 5.22 million new common shares. The company on Wednesday said that it has set the price at NT$141.78 per share and the proceeds would be used to purchase a 70 percent stake in Beijing Jupiter Cultural Media Inc (木星時代文化傳媒), a deal that is expected to be completed in the second quarter, it said in a filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange. VHQ offers movie production, TV commercials visual design, special effects, 3D animation and post-production services.
RETAIL
Eslite announces dividends
Eslite Spectrum Corp (誠品生活), which operates bookstores, restaurants, hotels and commercial centers, on Tuesday said its board has approved a plan to distribute cash dividends of NT$7.56 per common share, representing a payout ratio of 84.85 percent based on last year’s earnings per share of NT$8.91. Revenue last year edged up 0.35 percent from the previous year to NT$4.28 billion, while net income rose 0.5 percent to NT$423 million. The company is to hold an annual general meeting on May 29 at the Eslite Xinyi Store in Taipei, where shareholders are to vote on the dividend proposal.
ELECTRONICS
Tripod profit jumps 22%
Printed circuit board supplier Tripod Technology Corp (健鼎科技) on Tuesday reported that net profit for last year rose 22.19 percent to NT$4.37 billion, or earnings per share of NT$8.31, the highest since 2010. Gross margin increased 0.26 percentage points to 18.23 percent and revenue expanded 22.19 percent to NT$45.82 billion. The company expects revenue this year to grow by 8 to 10 percent, buoyed by its solid state drive and “smart” speaker segments, as well as increased orders from top Chinese handset and automotive clients. Tripod operates plants in Taoyuan as well as in China’s Jiangsu and Hubei provinces.
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,
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,
A proposed billionaires’ tax in California has ignited a political uproar in Silicon Valley, with tech titans threatening to leave the state while California Governor Gavin Newsom of the Democratic Party maneuvers to defeat a levy that he fears would lead to an exodus of wealth. A technology mecca, California has more billionaires than any other US state — a few hundred, by some estimates. About half its personal income tax revenue, a financial backbone in the nearly US$350 billion budget, comes from the top 1 percent of earners. A large healthcare union is attempting to place a proposal before
Vincent Wei led fellow Singaporean farmers around an empty Malaysian plot, laying out plans for a greenhouse and rows of leafy vegetables. What he pitched was not just space for crops, but a lifeline for growers struggling to make ends meet in a city-state with high prices and little vacant land. The future agriculture hub is part of a joint special economic zone launched last year by the two neighbors, expected to cost US$123 million and produce 10,000 tonnes of fresh produce annually. It is attracting Singaporean farmers with promises of cheaper land, labor and energy just over the border.
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