Taiwan’s financial conglomerates reported a total of NT$278.1 billion (US$8.98 billion) in net profit for the first three quarters, an improvement of 12.61 percent from the same period last year, but profit growth slowed last month as US-China trade tensions began to take a bigger toll on the global markets.
Cathay Financial Holding Co (國泰金控), the nation’s largest financial holding firm by market value, posted NT$54.56 billion in net profit for the first three quarters, or earnings per share (EPS) of NT$4.17, making it the most profitable among 15 listed peers in the first nine months, a company filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange showed.
However, the company’s net profit last month fell to NT$2.14 billion, a 58 percent decrease from August.
Cathay Financial’s main subsidiary, Cathay Life Insurance Co (國泰人壽), saw its net profit last month dip to NT$40 million as the insurer was affected by a stronger New Taiwan dollar at the end of the month, the company said, adding that its first-year premiums for protection-type policies expanded 61 percent year-on-year last month.
The company’s banking arm, Cathay United Bank (國泰世華銀行) was the stronger performer, posting earnings of NT$21.7 billion on the back of strong loan-to-deposit ratios and steady fee income.
Fubon Financial Holding Co (富邦金控) posted a profit of NT$2.9 billion last month to top its peers, while its profit between January and last month rose 13.02 percent year-on-year to NT$50.01 billion, or EPS of NT$4.74.
Fubon Life Insurance Co (富邦人壽) recorded a net profit of NT$30.95 billion for the first three quarters, a 14 percent annual increase on strong investment returns.
Its banking arm, Taipei Fubon Commercial Bank (台北富邦銀行), saw its net income rise 12 percent on the back of higher interest income.
Meanwhile, Shin Kong Financial Holding Co (新光金控) posted a net loss of NT$2.11 billion last month, due to widening foreign exchange losses, as well as higher hedging costs, it said.
However, it reported net income of NT$19.41 billion in the first nine months, or EPS of NT$1.73.
The company said that its foreign exchange losses could begin to narrow in the final quarter if the New Taiwan dollar continues to depreciate against the US dollar.
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,
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.
US actor Matthew McConaughey has filed recordings of his image and voice with US patent authorities to protect them from unauthorized usage by artificial intelligence (AI) platforms, a representative said earlier this week. Several video clips and audio recordings were registered by the commercial arm of the Just Keep Livin’ Foundation, a non-profit created by the Oscar-winning actor and his wife, Camila, according to the US Patent and Trademark Office database. Many artists are increasingly concerned about the uncontrolled use of their image via generative AI since the rollout of ChatGPT and other AI-powered tools. Several US states have adopted
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