Tongtai Machine and Tool Co Ltd (東台精機), which mainly makes machining centers and lathes, expects orders from Southeast Asia to grow annually in the second half of this year.
Orders from Southeast Asia are expected to see a single-digit growth on the back of robust demand in the second half of the year, the company said in an e-mail.
However, the growth from Southeast Asia, which accounted for 25 percent of total sales in the first nine months of the year, cannot fully offset declining sales in China this year, Tongtai said.
The company said it has this month received orders of NT$4.4 billion to NT$4.5 billion (US$143.4 million to US$146.6 million), less than the NT$5 billion in sales it reported a year earlier.
It attributed the decline to lower demand for machine tools in China, due to a US-China trade dispute, as machine tools are used in the used in the automotive, printed circuit board and lathe industries.
However, aviation product sales, which skyrocketed 120 percent annually in the first half, are expected to continue growing in the second half, the company said.
Tongtai plans to invite several global aviation companies and its clients to its plants later this month to introduce them to its smart production lines and machine tool products, the company said.
The company also plans to display its linear motor drilling machines and laser drilling machines, which make printed circuit boards for 5G facilities, at the Taiwan Printed Circuit Association Show in Taipei from Wednesday next week to Friday next week.
Bolstered by robust demand for five-axis machining centers and milling machines, Tongtai received inquiries worth about NT$500 million at last months’ Machine Tool World Exposition in Hanover, Germany, which was higher than its goal of NT$400 million, the company said.
It plans to begin shipping these new orders later this year, which would mainly boost sales in the first half of next year, Tongtai said.
Cumulative revenue dropped 2.59 percent year-on-year to NT$8.14 billion in the first nine months, with the Chinese market contributing 40 percent of total sales, while Europe and the US contributed 26 percent, it said.
Taiwan accounted for 9 percent of total sales, it added.
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