The nation’s two major bicycle makers, Giant Manufacturing Co Ltd (巨大機械) and Merida Industry Co Ltd (美利達), reported annual declines in revenue for last month due to fewer working days, which affected production and shipments.
Giant, Taiwan’s largest bicycle manufacturer, posted revenue of NT$4.75 billion (US$158.1 million) — a decline of 1.57 percent year-on-year, the company said in a statement on Saturday.
Merida’s revenue fell 16.55 percent annually to NT$1.68 billion, it said in an e-mail on Thursday.
The two firms blamed the decline in revenue on the Lunar New Year holiday, which lowered the number of working days last month, as wells as the low-season effect this quarter.
Given a sharp decline in market demand due to the COVID-19 outbreak in China, a decline in revenue would seem to be inevitable this month as well, market watchers say.
Giant has production bases in Taiwan, the Netherlands, and Kunshan and Tianjin in China.
The firm’s Chinese operations restarted last week and its new factory in Hungary is expected to start mass production in the second quarter of this year.
Giant posted revenue of NT$63.41 billion last year, up 5.67 percent from 2018.
Merida said its Chinese operations in Shenzhen and Jiangsu resumed operations on Thursday and that it aims to restart work at its Shangdong unit today.
The company said it plans to gradually increase production at its Chinese operations this quarter in preparation for the high season next quarter.
Merida reported revenue of NT$28.02 billion last year, an increase of 8.59 percent from 2018.
Separately, bicycle chain maker KMC Kuei Meng International Inc (桂盟國際) on Friday said that its Jiangsu factory had resumed operations, but it was still waiting for regulatory permission to restart work at its factories in Shenzhen and Tianjin.
The company posted revenue of NT$416.25 million for last month, down 20.41 percent from a year earlier.
Last year’s revenue totaled NT$5.23 billion, up 2.84 percent year-on-year.
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