MANUFACTURING
Optimax to sell factories
Optimax Technology Corp (力特光電), a supplier of polarizing films that are a central component of LCD technology, yesterday said that its board of directors has agreed to sell factories and equipment in the Southern Taiwan Science Park (南部科學園區) to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電) for NT$3.65 billion (US$123.56 million). Optimax said it expects to book an asset disposal gain of NT$650 million after deducting expenses and plans to use the proceeds to repay bank loans. As of June 30, Optimax had about NT$6.2 billion in debts with 18 banks, a company financial statement showed.
NETWORKING
Accton results miss mark
Communications solutions provider Accton Technology Corp (智邦科技) yesterday reported weaker-than-expected financial results for the second quarter due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Net profit decreased 16 percent year-on-year to NT$1.16 billion, or earnings per share (EPS) of NT$2.07, Accton said in a statement. Revenue declined 8 percent from a year earlier to NT$12.63 billion last quarter. In the first half of the year, net profit rose 2.1 percent annually to NT$2.19 billion, or EPS of NT$3.93, while revenue fell 2.3 percent to NT$24.35 billion. The company also approved the appointment of Melody Chiang (江映慧) and Jackal Lee (李訓德) as senior vice presidents, effective immediately.
MANUFACTURING
Chelic reports NT$47m profit
Pneumatic parts maker Taiwan Chelic Corp Ltd (台灣氣立) yesterday reported better-than-expected net profit of NT$47.26 million for the second quarter, up 335.68 percent from a year earlier, or EPS of NT$0.71. Revenue increased 29.47 percent to NT$459 million, the company said in a statement. Gross margin improved to 35 percent last quarter, thanks to orders related to 5G devices, consumer electronics, automation equipment, machine tools and welding facilities, it said. Business in the second half of the year would be better than the first half on the back of strong demand for industrial automation products, the company said.
INTERNET
Mozilla to lay off workers
Mozilla Corp (MoCo), the developer of the Firefox Internet browser, is to lay off 250 people and restructure its organization, as the pandemic has affected its business. In a statement to employees, Mozilla chief executive officer Mitchell Baker said that the pandemic significantly affected the firm’s revenue and prompted the need to reduce the size of its workforce. “We are reducing the size of the MoCo workforce by approximately 250 roles, including closing our current operations in Taipei, Taiwan. Another 60 or so people will change teams,” Baker said.
FOOTWEAR
BASF opens center
German chemical firm BASF SE on Tuesday opened its first global Footwear Innovation Center in Taiwan, with the aim of allowing brands to optimize manufacturing processes and improve efficiency. The 650m2 center in Changhua County is in a compound belonging to BASF’s strategic partner Longterm Concept (隆鼎). BASF said in a news release that one of the goals of the center is to “bring footwear professionals, manufacturers and designers together to cocreate new-generation footwear.” The center would also feature a slew of interactive footwear exhibits and house a biomechanics lab for the development of new footwear solutions, it said.
Shares in Taiwan closed at a new high yesterday, the first trading day of the new year, as contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) continued to break records amid an artificial intelligence (AI) boom, dealers said. The TAIEX closed up 386.21 points, or 1.33 percent, at 29,349.81, with turnover totaling NT$648.844 billion (US$20.65 billion). “Judging from a stronger Taiwan dollar against the US dollar, I think foreign institutional investors returned from the holidays and brought funds into the local market,” Concord Securities Co (康和證券) analyst Kerry Huang (黃志祺) said. “Foreign investors just rebuilt their positions with TSMC as their top target,
H200 CHIPS: A source said that Nvidia has asked the Taiwanese company to begin production of additional chips and work is expected to start in the second quarter Nvidia Corp is scrambling to meet demand for its H200 artificial intelligence (AI) chips from Chinese technology companies and has approached contract manufacturer Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) to ramp up production, sources said. Chinese technology companies have placed orders for more than 2 million H200 chips for this year, while Nvidia holds just 700,000 units in stock, two of the people said. The exact additional volume Nvidia intends to order from TSMC remains unclear, they said. A third source said that Nvidia has asked TSMC to begin production of the additional chips and work is expected to start in the second
REVENUE PERFORMANCE: Cloud and network products, and electronic components saw strong increases, while smart consumer electronics and computing products fell Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) yesterday posted 26.51 percent quarterly growth in revenue for last quarter to NT$2.6 trillion (US$82.44 billion), the strongest on record for the period and above expectations, but the company forecast a slight revenue dip this quarter due to seasonal factors. On an annual basis, revenue last quarter grew 22.07 percent, the company said. Analysts on average estimated about NT$2.4 trillion increase. Hon Hai, which assembles servers for Nvidia Corp and iPhones for Apple Inc, is expanding its capacity in the US, adding artificial intelligence (AI) server production in Wisconsin and Texas, where it operates established campuses. This
US President Donald Trump on Friday blocked US photonics firm HieFo Corp’s US$3 million acquisition of assets in New Jersey-based aerospace and defense specialist Emcore Corp, citing national security and China-related concerns. In an order released by the White House, Trump said HieFo was “controlled by a citizen of the People’s Republic of China” and that its 2024 acquisition of Emcore’s businesses led the US president to believe that it might “take action that threatens to impair the national security of the United States.” The order did not name the person or detail Trump’s concerns. “The Transaction is hereby prohibited,”
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