The combined pretax profit of 940 Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE)-listed firms soared 92.8 percent in the first nine months of this year from the same period last year to NT$3.17 trillion (US$113.97 billion) amid an ongoing economic recovery, the exchange said on Tuesday.
The 940 companies include 77 foreign firms that have launched primary listings on the local main board, but exclude 14 Taiwanese financial holding firms, the exchange said.
The profit increase was partly due to strong global demand for tech gadgets, such as 5G applications, high-performance computing devices and automotive electronics as the COVID-19 pandemic prompted accelerated development of the digital economy worldwide, it said.
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The semiconductor industry was the top beneficiary, it said.
The shipping industry got a boost from rising freight rates in the wake of port congestion worldwide, while profitability in the plastics industry improved due to a spike in international crude oil prices, the TWSE said.
In the first nine months of this year, the 940 companies generated NT$25.85 trillion in consolidated sales, up 19.92 percent from a year earlier, it said.
Meanwhile, the Taipei Exchange (TPEx), which runs the local over-the-counter market, said that 790 companies it lists raked in a combined NT$236.7 billion in pretax profit for the nine-month period, up 43 percent from a year earlier.
Of the 790 firms, 516 reported growth in pretax profit, with the semiconductor, electronics component and steel industries leading the upturn, the TPEx said.
The 790 firms collectively posted NT$1.93 trillion in consolidated sales for the period, up 18 percent from a year earlier, it said.
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