Tong Yang Industry Co Ltd (東陽實業), which manufactures bumpers and automotive sheet metal, expects sales to improve this year as it continues to expand its aftermarket business by investing in lightweight products, automated manufacturing and new molds for auto parts.
“We will invest about NT$2 billion [US$64.2 million] in developing aftermarket products this year, including bumpers, automotive hoods and grilles,” a Tong Yang public relations official told the Taipei Times by telephone yesterday.
Tong Yang enjoys a 70 percent share of the global plastic parts market and 35 percent in sheet metal parts, the company said, adding that it can develop specific molds for sheet metal and provide tailor-made manufacturing for various auto brands.
Due to promising prospects for plastic auto parts used in electric and hybrid vehicles, Tong Yang would focus on lightweight products, it said.
“One of our goals is to provide alternative-fuel vehicles with auto parts that are stronger in material strength and lighter to increase energy efficiency,” the official said, asking not to be identified by name.
“We will concentrate on expanding business in countries like the US and some European states,” where the aftermarket business shows growth potential, the official said.
North America remained the largest market for Tong Yang products, contributing 66 percent of total sales last year, company data showed.
Tong Yang said that it has invested in Chinese auto parts manufacturer FAW Group Co Ltd’s (一汽富維) factories in Qingdao and Tianjin, which produce bumpers and lightweight auto parts, and has started to see sales and earnings contribution this year.
The Chinese market is expected to grow in the coming years, it said.
Tong Yang’s product portfolio includes bumpers, grilles, hoods, fenders and cooling products.
The firm on Monday reported that pretax profit last month increased 4 percent annually to NT$259 million, with cumulative pretax profit in the first five months of the year totaling NT$1.09 billion, or earnings per share of NT$1.93.
However, revenue last month fell 13.37 percent year-on-year to NT$1.82 billion and cumulative revenue in the first five months dropped 12.48 percent annually to NT$8.95 billion, which the company attributed to the effects of a US-China trade dispute and a sluggish Chinese market.
A shareholders’ meeting in Tainan yesterday approved the company’s plan to distribute a cash dividend of NT$1.7, a payout ratio of 52.15 percent based on last year’s earnings per share of NT$3.26 and a dividend yield of 3.9 percent based on the stock’s closing price of NT$43.55 in Taipei trading.
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