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.
Taiwan’s exports soared 56 percent year-on-year to an all-time high of US$64.05 billion last month, propelled by surging global demand for artificial intelligence (AI), high-performance computing and cloud service infrastructure, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. Department of Statistics Director-General Beatrice Tsai (蔡美娜) called the figure an unexpected upside surprise, citing a wave of technology orders from overseas customers alongside the usual year-end shopping season for technology products. Growth is likely to remain strong this month, she said, projecting a 40 percent to 45 percent expansion on an annual basis. The outperformance could prompt the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and
The demise of the coal industry left the US’ Appalachian region in tatters, with lost jobs, spoiled water and countless kilometers of abandoned underground mines. Now entrepreneurs are eyeing the rural region with ambitious visions to rebuild its economy by converting old mines into solar power systems and data centers that could help fuel the increasing power demands of the artificial intelligence (AI) boom. One such project is underway by a non-profit team calling itself Energy DELTA (Discovery, Education, Learning and Technology Accelerator) Lab, which is looking to develop energy sources on about 26,305 hectares of old coal land in
Netflix on Friday faced fierce criticism over its blockbuster deal to acquire Warner Bros Discovery. The streaming giant is already viewed as a pariah in some Hollywood circles, largely due to its reluctance to release content in theaters and its disruption of traditional industry practices. As Netflix emerged as the likely winning bidder for Warner Bros — the studio behind Casablanca, the Harry Potter movies and Friends — Hollywood’s elite launched an aggressive campaign against the acquisition. Titanic director James Cameron called the buyout a “disaster,” while a group of prominent producers are lobbying US Congress to oppose the deal,
Two Chinese chipmakers are attracting strong retail investor demand, buoyed by industry peer Moore Threads Technology Co’s (摩爾線程) stellar debut. The retail portion of MetaX Integrated Circuits (Shanghai) Co’s (上海沐曦) upcoming initial public offering (IPO) was 2,986 times oversubscribed on Friday, according to a filing. Meanwhile, Beijing Onmicro Electronics Co (北京昂瑞微), which makes radio frequency chips, was 2,899 times oversubscribed on Friday, its filing showed. The bids coincided with Moore Threads’ trading debut, which surged 425 percent on Friday after raising 8 billion yuan (US$1.13 billion) on bets that the company could emerge as a viable local competitor to Nvidia
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