AUTOMOTIVE
Pan German profit soars
Pan German Universal Motors Ltd (汎德永業汽車), which distributes BMW, Porsche and Mini vehicles in Taiwan, yesterday reported net profit of NT$1.07 billion (US$37.89 million) for last year, up 46.4 percent from a year earlier, with earnings per share of NT$14.5, the highest in four years. The company’s board of directors has proposed a plan to distribute a cash dividend of NT$11 per share, Pan German said in a statement. The company’s consolidated revenue last year expanded 17.2 percent year-on-year to NT$39.56 billion, with gross margin improving to 11.2 percent, it said. Pan German said it expects sales momentum to remain strong this year.
APPLIANCES
Airmate aims to turn profit
Home appliance maker Airmate International Co (艾美特) aims to turn a profit during the off-season this year by adjusting its product mix and selling more goods to the US, Eastern Europe and Saudi Arabia through e-commerce platforms, it said yesterday. The company’s revenue fell 9.22 percent year-on-year to NT$9.21 billion last year, due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Net profit fell 37.98 percent to NT$156.24 million and earnings per share decreased to NT$1.12, it said in a filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange. The company’s board has proposed to distribute a cash dividend of NT$0.6 per share and a stock dividend of NT$0.4 per share. The company today begins a share buyback program, which would run until May 15, with an aim to repurchase 1 million of its shares at NT$20 to NT$30 per share.
PHARMACEUTICALS
Senhwa drug to enter trials
Senhwa Biosciences Inc’s (生華生物科技) drug for treating severe COVID-19 infection has received positive reviews from an independent monitoring group in the US, it said on Sunday, adding that it can start clinical trials. The oral drug Silmitasertib (CX-4945) is in its phase-2 trial at Banner - University Medical Center in Phoenix, Arizona, the company said in a statement. It can proceed to the recruitment of patients for the treatment of severe COVID-19, it added. Senhwa Biosciences said it plans to complete clinical trials of the drug by the second quarter of this year.
LOGISTICS
Dimerco posts revenue surge
Dimerco Express Group (中菲行), which offers global freight-forwarding and logistics services, reported that revenue in the first two months of this year totaled NT$4.57 billion, up 83.4 percent from a year earlier. The company attributed the increase to rising freight rates for air cargo and sea shipping amid strong market demand. Air cargo forwarding and logistics services accounted for 51.5 percent of Dimerco’s overall revenue, while sea shipping services made up 44 percent, the company said last week. The remaining 4.5 percent came from its contract logistics service, it said.
INVESTMENT
Fund inflows end
The nation reported a net fund outflow of US$27 million by foreign investors last month, ending four consecutive months of inflows, data released on March 5 by the Financial Supervisor Commission showed. The reversal came as foreign investors sold a net NT$80 billion of shares on the Taiwan Stock Exchange and a net NT$9.1 billion of shares on the Taipei Exchange, the commission’s data showed. In the first two months of this year, Taiwan registered a net fund inflow of US$4.88 billion by foreign investors, the data showed.
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