E-commerce company PChome Online Inc (網路家庭) yesterday posted a net profit of NT$63.44 million (US$2.28 million) for last quarter, up about 20 percent year-on-year from NT$52.7 million, as consumers opted for online shopping amid a domestic COVID-19 outbreak.
Earnings per share rose to NT$0.55 last quarter from NT$0.45 a year earlier.
That brought the company’s net profit for the first half of the year to NT$200.41 million, up 28.66 percent from NT$155.77 million in the same period last year.
Photo provided by PChome Online Inc
Earnings per share rose to NT$1.72 from NT$1.33.
Revenue rose 10.73 percent year-on-year to NT$23.22 billion in the first six months from NT$20.97 billion last year.
The company attributed the growth to its PChome 24 hour service, as people turned to shopping online during the outbreak.
“As people stayed home to avoid the virus, Internet shopping spiked,” the company said.
Initial demand was focused on daily supplies such as ramen, frozen foods, cleaning and medical items, but as the outbreak wore on, customers started upgrading their work-from-home equipment such as computers and peripherals and buying office furniture.
They also started buying new home appliances and cooking utensils.
Home fitness also enjoyed a boost, especially compact gym equipment, weights, yoga-related products, and even the Switch gaming system and fitness rings.
Health monitoring wearables were also in high demand, the company said.
However, the explosion in demand also led to logistics woes for PChome, with reports in May of customers complaining that their 24-hour orders were taking seven days to arrive.
Those logistics problems might explain why profit fell quarter-on-quarter, while revenue rose slightly.
PChome said that all of its subsidiaries are ramping up logistics and inventory ahead of the traditional busy season for the retail industry in the second half of the year.
“We have a positive outlook for the second half of the year,” PChome chief executive officer Kevin Tsai (蔡凱文) said. “We’ve contracted with additional warehouses to handle the expected demand.”
In addition to Lovers’ Day, Father’s Day and the Ghost Festival, the company has come up with its own “heart’s gift festival” sales event this month.
In addition to time-limited discounts, the company is to use celebrity livestreams and videos to help customers select the most appropriate present for their loved one.
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