Sinon Corp (興農集團), a supplier of crop protection and nutrient solutions, yesterday said revenue growth might slow this quarter due to a higher comparison base last year, despite a favorable foreign-exchange rate.
However, the Taichung-based company said it expects its chemical pesticides and biological fermentation businesses to grow steadily this year, providing stable revenue.
“Demand for chemical pesticides is expected to rise in Taiwan, China, Southeast Asia, India and Europe this quarter, while consumption in Brazil is expected to increase in September due to its high season,” Sinon spokesperson Yu Kuei-ju (余奎儒) told an investors’ conference in Taipei.
Chemical pesticides, including insecticide, herbicide and bactericide, remained Sinon’s main products, contributing about 60 percent of sales last quarter, company data showed.
“Contribution to annual sales from our microbiological crop protection products is also expected to rise from 3 percent last year to 5 percent this year, as we follow a government policy to promote eco-friendly farming products,” Yu said.
Sinon sells its microbiological crop protection products in Taiwan and China, and is awaiting regulatory approval in Europe, Yu said, adding that it usually takes three to five years for crop protection products to hit the market there.
The company’s plant in Nantong, Jiangsu Province, is awaiting an operating license from Chinese authorities after an explosion at another firm’s chemical plant in the province in March halted the license issuing process, he said.
“Getting the permission is a matter of time and we are confident about it, as our Nantong unit meets local environmental protection and industrial safety standards,” he added.
Chemical pesticides produced at the plant is expected to contribute NT$5 billion (US$158.3 million) in annual sales, the company said.
Its chemical pesticides operations in Taichung contributed about NT$2 billion in annual sales, it added.
Crop protection products contributed 63.5 percent to total sales in the first quarter of this year.
Supermarket operations accounted for 23.7 percent, and houseware, food service and others contributed 12.8 percent, company data showed.
The company reported net income of NT$200.31 million for the first quarter of this year, up 37.6 percent from a year earlier.
Earnings per share climbed from NT$0.35 to NT$0.48, but gross margin dropped by 1.06 percentage points to 25.64 percent.
Combined revenue in the first four months increased 2.85 percent annually to NT$6.05 billion, it said.
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