Solar wafer maker Sino-American Silicon Products Inc’s (SAS, 中美晶) board of directors last week approved a plan to buy a plant and ancillary equipment from sapphire substrate maker Crystalwise Technology Inc (兆遠電子) for NT$903 million (US$29.8 million) to meet the firm’s operation and production needs.
The plant is at the Jhunan Science Park (竹南科學園區) in Miaoli County, SAS said in a regulatory filing on Thursday.
SAS, which has a 41.94 percent stake in Crystalwise, has its own plants in Jhunan and Yilan County.
The new manufacturing site is a factory-office complex with seven floors above ground and two below, the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper) reported on Friday, citing SAS chief financial officer Jason Chien (簡明輝).
It has also installed cleanroom equipment, the Liberty Times reported.
Companies in the solar industry continue to face headwinds and SAS is no exception. As the company is seeking to transform, it is researching semiconductor materials and might make additional investments in the new plant, the Chinese-language Commercial Times reported on Friday.
Separately, the board also approved a plan to merge with Sunrise PV World Co (旭鑫能源), a wholly owned subsidiary of SAS that focuses on power generation, as SAS aims to integrate group resources and optimize its management efficiency.
The deal would have no impact on shareholders in terms of net worth per share and earnings per share, SAS said, adding that it expects to close the deal on Jan. 31.
SAS’ net profit plunged 54.15 percent to NT$1.16 billion in the first three quarters of this year, compared with NT$2.53 billion in the same period last year. Earnings per share fell to NT$2 from NT$4.35.
Revenue slid 13.84 percent year-on-year to NT$5.01 billion last month. That led to a 4.67 percent annual drop in sales in the first 11 months of this year to NT$60.22 billion, company data showed.
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