The combined revenue of companies listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange last month increased 11.97 percent year-on-year to NT$3.145 trillion (US$113.5 billion), the bourse said on Saturday.
The exchange said in a statement that 661 firms reported revenue growth, while 292 reported a decline.
The combined revenue of listed firms last grew 14.16 percent from August 2019, before COVID-19 was a factor, it added.
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The highest increases last month were reported in shipping and transportation; oil, gas and electricity; and plastics, the exchange said.
The uptick in the shipping and transportation industry came as imbalanced supply and demand dynamics amid the COVID-19 pandemic boosted freight volumes and rates, benefiting major players in the sector’s peak season, it said.
Evergreen Marine Corp (長榮海運), the nation’s largest container shipping firm in terms of fleet size, on Friday reported record monthly revenue of NT$50.02 billion for last month, up 9.03 percent month-on-month and 164.79 percent year-on-year.
Yang Ming Marine Transport Corp (陽明海運), the second largest, said revenue last month rose 11.34 percent monthly and 151.33 percent annually to NT$32.79 billion, while Wan Hai Lines Ltd (萬海航運), the third largest, saw revenue increase 21.49 percent from the previous month and 278.07 percent from a year earlier to NT$24.66 billion.
The oil, gas and electricity industry benefited from rising raw material prices for petrochemicals caused by higher oil prices, while plastics producers cited increased demand for products and rising prices as factors behind their rising sales, the exchange said.
Tourism, financial and insurance industries, and some electronics sectors reported relatively large revenue declines last month, as the tourism industry continued to be affected by COVID-19 disease prevention measures, it said.
Some companies in the electronics industry posted a drop in revenue as their customers underwent a product transition period, while revenue in the financial and insurance industry declined due to lower net income at insurers, it said.
Accumulated revenue for the 953 listed firms in the first eight months of the year reached NT$24.1 trillion, up 18.61 percent year-on-year, the exchange said, adding that the increase compared with the same period in 2019 was 16.45 percent.
Firms in the shipping and transportation, plastics, and iron and steel industries reported the highest revenue increases during the eight-month period, the exchange added.
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