The COVID-19 pandemic did not cast a shadow over the nation’s 1,736 publicly traded companies, with their combined pretax profit rising 21.04 percent from a year earlier to a record NT$3.11 trillion (US$109.18 billion) last year, as firms in the technology sector benefited from new businesses, the Financial Supervisory Commission said yesterday.
That followed an annual decline of 9.84 percent in pretax profit from NT$2.84 trillion in 2018 to NT$2.56 trillion in 2019, commission data showed.
All TWSE-listed companies, except for KY stocks, saw their overall revenue increase 1.08 percent year-on-year to NT$32.26 trillion and their combined pretax profit expand 21.7 percent to NT$2.8 trillion, the data showed.
KY stocks refer to overseas Taiwanese businesses with a primary listing on the nation’s bourses.
Most of the momentum behind the profit came from local firms in the computer and electronic components sector, which benefited from rising demand for consumer goods due to a work-from-home trend, as well as firms in the semiconductor sector, which profited from 5G development, the commission said.
The container and bulk shipping industry also contributed high profit gains last year due to rising freight rates, it said.
All Taipei Exchange (TPEX)-listed corporations, excluding KY stocks, reported a 2.45 percent annual rise in their combined revenue to NT$2.19 trillion and an annual growth of 20.21 percent in overall pretax profit to NT$222.5 billion, the commission said.
The gains came from the TPEX-listed firms in the semiconductor, electronic components, biotechnology and pharmaceutical sectors, Securities and Futures Bureau Deputy Director-General Tsai Li-ling (蔡麗玲) told a news conference in New Taipei City.
As many biotechnology firms’ share prices advanced last year because investors were upbeat about the development of vaccines and treatments for COVID-19, their shareholders could see more investment gains, Tsai said.
KY stocks listed on the TWSE and the TPEX saw their overall revenue fall 1.32 percent annually to NT$872.3 billion last year, as some KY stocks were hit by a decline in consumption during the pandemic, the commission said.
However, their combined pretax profits rose 4.03 percent to NT$82.6 billion, the data showed.
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