Solar cell maker Sino-American Silicon Products Inc (SAS, 中美晶) yesterday posted a net profit of NT$1.04 billion (US$35.67 million) for last year, or earnings per share of NT$1.8, reversing a loss per share of NT$2.77 in 2016.
SAS benefited significantly from contributions from silicon wafer subsidiary GlobalWafers Co (環球晶圓), which reported a record profit of NT$5.27 billion for last year.
SAS holds a 51 percent stake in GlobalWafers.
However, SAS still felt the pinch of a downturn in the solar industry amid staggering demand and falling prices, as the firm booked an operating loss of NT$1.09 billion last year, compared with an operating profit of NT$42.06 million the previous year.
Gross margin drifted into the negative territory, at minus-6 percent, from 10.87 percent in 2016.
Revenue shrank 64 percent to NT$11.28 billion, from NT$31.6 billion a year earlier.
The company’s board yesterday approved a cash dividend of NT$3 per common share, representing a yield of 2.84 percent based on SAS’ closing price of NT$105.5 in Taipei trading.
The board also approved a fundraising program that is to issue 85 million new shares through a rights issue or private placement.
Unlike SAS, other solar cell makers have continued to experience the effects of the downward spiral of last year’s volatile solar industry, with the top four players losing NT$9.6 billion in total.
Gintech Energy Corp (昱晶能源) reported a net loss of NT$1.49 billion last year, marking its seventh unprofitable year, although it was an improvement from a loss of NT$2.25 billion in 2016, Neo Solar Power Energy Corp (新日光能源) booked the biggest loss out of the four at NT$4.15 billion, while Motech Industries Inc (茂迪) and Solartech Energy Corp (昇陽光電) lost NT$3.03 billion and NT$931 million respectively.
The short-term outlook for the industry looks bleak with market researcher TrendForce Corp (集邦科技) saying that prices for solar cells made by Taiwanese suppliers dipped to less than US$0.18 per watt this week amid a lukewarm recovery in China, indicating that local firms no longer enjoy a price premium over their Chinese rivals.
Nonetheless, silicon wafer maker Formosa Sumco Technology Corp (台勝科) posted its highest profit in 10 years on strong demand and price hikes, with net profit more than tripling from NT$725 million in 2016 to NT$2.24 billion last year, with earnings per share increasing from NT$0.94 to NT$2.89, it said.
The company’s board has approved a cash dividend of NT$2.08 per share, representing a yield of 1.61 percent based on the company’s closing price of NT$129 yesterday.
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