White-Wood-House Foods Co Ltd (白木屋食品), which has reported operating losses for many years, is to shut down, its parent company said yesterday.
The famous cake company, established in 1997, would end operations within a week, as its losses would grow further without signs of a turnaround any time soon, GenMont Biotech Inc (景岳生技) chief accountant Wu Mei-jung (吳美瑢) said at a news conference in Taipei.
GenMont Biotech, one of Taiwan’s leading suppliers of probiotic products, acquired White-Wood-House in 2014 for NT$1.65 billion (US$55.2 million).
Photo: CNA
In a Taiwan Stock Exchange filing, GenMont Biotech said the cake company reported revenue of NT$172.29 million last year and NT$36.97 million in the first quarter of this year, which accounted for 31.15 percent and 27.77 percent of the group’s total revenue, respectively.
GenMont Biotech booked investment losses of NT$83.8 million from the bakery business last year and registered a loss of NT$23.09 million last quarter, the filing showed.
In the first quarter, the company reported net profit of NT$4.05 million — a turnaround from net losses of NT$2.45 million during the same period last year — with earnings per share of NT$0.05.
Shares in GenMont Biotech yesterday closed up 8.59 percent to NT$33.5 in Taipei trading, ahead of the White-Wood-House announcement.
White-Wood-House sales representatives yesterday told the Central News Agency that customers would receive their preordered cakes by the end of this month and the company would honor all requests for refunds and exchanges.
White-Wood-House, which has about 190 employees, runs 25 outlets in Taiwan, including 19 retail stores and six shops at local department stores. It also runs the White-Wood-House Brand Discovery Gallery (白木屋品牌探索館) in Taoyuan’s Yangmei District (楊梅), the company’s Web site showed.
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