The four major subsidiaries of Formosa Plastics Group (FPG, 台塑集團), the nation’s largest industrial conglomerate, yesterday posted combined losses of NT$13.99 billion (US$464.74 million) for last quarter, marking the group’s worst financial performance in five years.
Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化), the largest of the group’s four listed companies, reported a loss of NT$9.99 billion for last quarter, or losses per share of NT$1.05.
The company blamed plummeting crude oil prices and weakening demand amid the COVID-19 pandemic, as prices of its naphtha and alkene products fell, dealing a heavy blow to its oil refining business.
An inventory loss of NT$5.26 billion also added to last quarter’s poor performance.
Formosa Petrochemical posted revenue of NT$137.53 billion for last quarter, an 8.8 percent decline from NT$150.77 billion in the fourth quarter of last year.
Nan Ya Plastics Corp (南亞塑膠), the nation’s biggest plastics maker, was the only one of the group’s four main units to register a profit last quarter, despite also suffering a downturn in business due to the pandemic.
The company posted a net profit of NT$1.01 billion for last quarter, or earnings per share of NT$0.13, a 75.82 percent decline quarter-on-quarter.
Revenue last quarter contracted 8.5 percent to NT$65.56 billion as the company registered poor sales during and after the Lunar New Year holiday as the coronavirus outbreak started to accelerate.
However, the performance of the company’s electronic components business improved, with the circuit board business turning a profit thanks to growing demand from the deployment of 5G technologies.
Aromatics and styrenics manufacturer Formosa Chemicals and Fibre Corp (台灣化學纖維) posted the group’s second-heaviest loss of NT$4.61 billion, or losses per share of NT$0.79.
Revenue fell 9.8 percent quarter-on-quarter to NT$64.44 billion last quarter.
Formosa Plastics Corp (台灣塑膠) posted a loss of NT$394 million, or losses per share of NT$0.06, while its revenue contracted 13.5 percent quarter-on-quarter to NT$42.02 billion.
The company also blamed the COVID-19 pandemic, which had dragged down demand and prices.
Merida Industry Co (美利達) has seen signs of recovery in the US and European markets this year, as customers are gradually depleting their inventories, the bicycle maker told shareholders yesterday. Given robust growth in new orders at its Taiwanese factory, coupled with its subsidiaries’ improving performance, Merida said it remains confident about the bicycle market’s prospects and expects steady growth in its core business this year. CAUTION ON CHINA However, the company must handle the Chinese market with great caution, as sales of road bikes there have declined significantly, affecting its revenue and profitability, Merida said in a statement, adding that it would
RISING: Strong exports, and life insurance companies’ efforts to manage currency risks indicates the NT dollar would eventually pass the 29 level, an expert said The New Taiwan dollar yesterday rallied to its strongest in three years amid inflows to the nation’s stock market and broad-based weakness in the US dollar. Exporter sales of the US currency and a repatriation of funds from local asset managers also played a role, said two traders, who asked not to be identified as they were not authorized to speak publicly. State-owned banks were seen buying the greenback yesterday, but only at a moderate scale, the traders said. The local currency gained 0.77 percent, outperforming almost all of its Asian peers, to close at NT$29.165 per US dollar in Taipei trading yesterday. The
RECORD LOW: Global firms’ increased inventories, tariff disputes not yet impacting Taiwan and new graduates not yet entering the market contributed to the decrease Taiwan’s unemployment rate last month dropped to 3.3 percent, the lowest for the month in 25 years, as strong exports and resilient domestic demand boosted hiring across various sectors, the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) said yesterday. After seasonal adjustments, the jobless rate eased to 3.34 percent, the best performance in 24 years, suggesting a stable labor market, although a mild increase is expected with the graduation season from this month through August, the statistics agency said. “Potential shocks from tariff disputes between the US and China have yet to affect Taiwan’s job market,” Census Department Deputy Director Tan Wen-ling
UNCERTAINTIES: The world’s biggest chip packager and tester is closely monitoring the US’ tariff policy before making any capacity adjustments, a company official said ASE Technology Holding Inc (日月光投控), the world’s biggest chip packager and tester, yesterday said it is cautiously evaluating new advanced packaging capacity expansion in the US in response to customers’ requests amid uncertainties about the US’ tariff policy. Compared with its semiconductor peers, ASE has been relatively prudent about building new capacity in the US. However, the company is adjusting its global manufacturing footprint expansion after US President Donald Trump announced “reciprocal” tariffs in April, and new import duties targeting semiconductors and other items that are vital to national security. ASE subsidiary Siliconware Precision Industries Co (SPIL, 矽品精密) is participating in Nvidia
RSS