Phison Electronics Corp (群聯電子), a Taiwanese supplier of NAND flash memory controllers and modules, posted 18 percent growth in net profit last year as it benefited from robust demand and higher average selling prices, it said.
Net profit expanded to a record-high NT$5.76 billion (US$197 million), from NT$4.88 billion in 2016, the company said in a filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange.
Earnings per share rose to NT$29.23 last year from NT$24.67 in 2016.
While revenue contracted 2.18 percent to NT$41.77 billion last year from NT$43.78 billion, gross margin rose to 27.41 percent from 21.16 percent, the company said.
Phison chairman Pua Khein-seng (潘健成) in early January said that net profit is likely to hit another high this year, dismissing speculation that the company would see its bottom line fall from last year.
The company has an advantage over its competitors in sourcing sufficient memory chips from its strategic partners, including Toshiba Corp, when supply constraints return during this year’s peak season, Pua said.
A prolonged scarcity of chip supply last year pushed prices for NAND flash memory chips up 300 percent from the previous year, he said.
In a separate company filing yesterday, Phison said the company’s board has approved a higher cash dividend distribution of NT$17 per common share, compared with last year’s NT$14.
That represented a dividend yield of 5.59 percent based on the stock’s closing price of NT$304 in Taipei trading yesterday.
The board also gave the go-ahead on a capital-raising program, the filing said, adding that the firm plans to issue as many as 18 million new shares via a private placement.
The proceeds are to be used to improve technology cooperation with partners and pursue new strategic alliances with local or overseas companies, the company said.
The new share offering would have a three-year lock period, it added.
Phison is scheduled to hold an annual shareholder’s meeting on June 8 to vote on the proposals.
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