MACHINE TOOLS
Goodway profits skyrocket
Machine tool maker Goodway Machine Corp (程泰機械) yesterday posted a net profit of NT$379 million (US$12.98 million) for last year, a year-on-year increase of 53.7 percent, which the company attributed to better demand from clients. Earnings per share (EPS) rose from NT$2.24 to NT$3.44, company data showed. While gross margin decreased 0.63 percentage points to 25.17 percent, operating margin rose 0.87 percentage points to 10.11 percent last year, Goodway said. The firm’s board has decided to pay shareholders a cash dividend of NT$2.5 per common share, equivalent to a payout ratio of 72.6 percent.
? SEMICONDUCTORS
Silergy third on earnings list
Silergy Corp (矽力杰), a power management chip designer, ranked the third-most profitable earner in the integrated circuit (IC) design sector last year, after yesterday posting NT$21.2 in EPS, ahead of Aspeed Technology Inc’s (信驊) NT$15.7. Silergy said net income grew about 23 percent year-on-year to NT$1.81 billion, with gross margin increasing 0.4 percentage points to 48 percent. Phison Electronics Corp (群聯), a controller IC designer, retained its title as the most profitable IC designer last year, posting NT$29.23 in EPS, while Parade Technologies Ltd (譜瑞), a video display and interface IC firm, came in second with EPS of NT$25.49, Taiwan Stock Exchange data showed.
ELECTRONICS
Syncmold proposes payout
Syncmold Enterprise Corp (信錦企業), a supplier of base products for LCD monitors, LCD TVs and all-in-one computers, yesterday said the company proposed a cash dividend of NT$5 per share and would cut its capitalization by 25 percent to return NT$2.5 per share in cash to shareholders. Syncmold’s net profit decreased 4 percent year-on-year to NT$870 million last year, or NT$5.42 per share. The company’s annual shareholders’ meeting on June 29 is to vote on the proposals. The capital reduction plan would see the firm’s capitalization drop by NT$41 million to NT$1.24 billion, while its net value would increase from NT$36.2 to NT$48.3 per share, the company said.
KITCHENWARE
Kayee reports record sales
Kayee International Group Co Ltd (凱羿), which sells kitchenware and home appliances, yesterday reported record-high sales and earnings for last year, thanks to its diversified marketing channels, which include telemarking, TV shopping, online sales and catalogue shopping operations. The company said revenue increased 49.59 percent to NT$5.61 billion and net profit grew 40.91 percent to NT$856 million, with EPS of NT$18.63. Kayee said its board proposed a cash dividend of NT$315 per share, which represents a payout ratio of 80.52 percent and is subject to shareholders’ approval on June 11.
STEELMAKERS
Feng Hsin hits five-year best
Rebar maker Feng Hsin Steel Co (豐興鋼鐵) on Tuesday reported its highest net profit in five years, aided by rising prices amid a sound recovery in the global economy. Net profit grew 50.18 percent to NT$2.72 billion last year, with EPS rising from NT$3.12 to NT$4.69. The company’s board on March 8 approved a plan to distribute a cash dividend of NT$3.5 per common share, the highest dividend in the company’s history. Meanwhile, Ta Chen Stainless Pipe Co (大成不鏽鋼) said its board proposed a cash dividend of NT$0.8 based on last year’s EPS of NT$1.25, plus a stock dividend of 4 percent.
Japanese technology giant Softbank Group Corp said Tuesday it has sold its stake in Nvidia Corp, raising US$5.8 billion to pour into other investments. It also reported its profit nearly tripled in the first half of this fiscal year from a year earlier. Tokyo-based Softbank said it sold the stake in Silicon Vally-based Nvidia last month, a move that reflects its shift in focus to OpenAI, owner of the artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot ChatGPT. Softbank reported its profit in the April-to-September period soared to about 2.5 trillion yen (about US$13 billion). Its sales for the six month period rose 7.7 percent year-on-year
CRESTING WAVE: Companies are still buying in, but the shivers in the market could be the first signs that the AI wave has peaked and the collapse is upon the world Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday reported a new monthly record of NT$367.47 billion (US$11.85 billion) in consolidated sales for last month thanks to global demand for artificial intelligence (AI) applications. Last month’s figure represented 16.9 percent annual growth, the slowest pace since February last year. On a monthly basis, sales rose 11 percent. Cumulative sales in the first 10 months of the year grew 33.8 percent year-on-year to NT$3.13 trillion, a record for the same period in the company’s history. However, the slowing growth in monthly sales last month highlights uncertainty over the sustainability of the AI boom even as
JITTERS: Nexperia has a 20 percent market share for chips powering simpler features such as window controls, and changing supply chains could take years European carmakers are looking into ways to scratch components made with parts from China, spooked by deepening geopolitical spats playing out through chipmaker Nexperia BV and Beijing’s export controls on rare earths. To protect operations from trade ructions, several automakers are pushing major suppliers to find permanent alternatives to Chinese semiconductors, people familiar with the matter said. The industry is considering broader changes to its supply chain to adapt to shifting geopolitics, Europe’s main suppliers lobby CLEPA head Matthias Zink said. “We had some indications already — questions like: ‘How can you supply me without this dependency on China?’” Zink, who also
Tax revenue from securities transactions last month increased 41.9 percent from a year earlier to NT$30.3 billion (US$975.8 million), rising on an annual basis for the third consecutive month and marking the highest for the month of October as Taiwanese stocks continued to perform strongly, data released by the Ministry of Finance showed yesterday. Last month, the TAIEX surged 2,412.81 points, or 9.34 percent, marking its largest-ever monthly rise for October as market sentiment was buoyed by a nearly 15 percent gain in contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), which accounts for more than 40 percent of the
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