Elevator and escalator supplier Golden Friends Corp (GFC, 崇友實業) is positive about business this quarter, supported by new demand, as well as maintenance and replacement needs amid a property boom and a vibrant economy.
The Taipei-based company gave the upbeat assessment after posting a 21.27 percent increase in revenue for last quarter to a record NT$1.26 billion (US$45.54 million).
Golden Friends attributed the revenue growth to profit recognition from selling elevators to public housing projects in Taipei’s Neihu (內湖) and Nangang (南港) districts, as well as effective replacement promotion campaigns.
Photo: Lin Jing-hua, Taipei Times
Replacement business soared 36.63 percent year-on-year in the October-to-December period, while its maintenance arm served 38,845 elevators, it said in a statement.
The firm sells elevators and escalators under its own GFC and Genesis brands, and has been a contract maker for Japan’s Toshiba elevators and escalators.
The boom in the local property market has led developers to accelerate housing project construction and the process has benefited Golden Friends, it said, adding that strong elevator sales would shore up business at its maintenance division.
For the whole of last year, the company’s revenue grew 4.82 percent year-on-year to NT$4.61 billion, it said.
Looking forward, Golden Friends said that it would seek to expand its market share and customer base by developing high-speed elevators equipped with Internet of Things and facial recognition technologies.
Order visibility looks bright this quarter, as it has signed deals to supply elevators for luxury home projects and international tourist hotels in Taichung, it said.
The US dollar was trading at NT$29.7 at 10am today on the Taipei Foreign Exchange, as the New Taiwan dollar gained NT$1.364 from the previous close last week. The NT dollar continued to rise today, after surging 3.07 percent on Friday. After opening at NT$30.91, the NT dollar gained more than NT$1 in just 15 minutes, briefly passing the NT$30 mark. Before the US Department of the Treasury's semi-annual currency report came out, expectations that the NT dollar would keep rising were already building. The NT dollar on Friday closed at NT$31.064, up by NT$0.953 — a 3.07 percent single-day gain. Today,
‘SHORT TERM’: The local currency would likely remain strong in the near term, driven by anticipated US trade pressure, capital inflows and expectations of a US Fed rate cut The US dollar is expected to fall below NT$30 in the near term, as traders anticipate increased pressure from Washington for Taiwan to allow the New Taiwan dollar to appreciate, Cathay United Bank (國泰世華銀行) chief economist Lin Chi-chao (林啟超) said. Following a sharp drop in the greenback against the NT dollar on Friday, Lin told the Central News Agency that the local currency is likely to remain strong in the short term, driven in part by market psychology surrounding anticipated US policy pressure. On Friday, the US dollar fell NT$0.953, or 3.07 percent, closing at NT$31.064 — its lowest level since Jan.
The New Taiwan dollar and Taiwanese stocks surged on signs that trade tensions between the world’s top two economies might start easing and as US tech earnings boosted the outlook of the nation’s semiconductor exports. The NT dollar strengthened as much as 3.8 percent versus the US dollar to 30.815, the biggest intraday gain since January 2011, closing at NT$31.064. The benchmark TAIEX jumped 2.73 percent to outperform the region’s equity gauges. Outlook for global trade improved after China said it is assessing possible trade talks with the US, providing a boost for the nation’s currency and shares. As the NT dollar
PRESSURE EXPECTED: The appreciation of the NT dollar reflected expectations that Washington would press Taiwan to boost its currency against the US dollar, dealers said Taiwan’s export-oriented semiconductor and auto part manufacturers are expecting their margins to be affected by large foreign exchange losses as the New Taiwan dollar continued to appreciate sharply against the US dollar yesterday. Among major semiconductor manufacturers, ASE Technology Holding Co (日月光), the world’s largest integrated circuit (IC) packaging and testing services provider, said that whenever the NT dollar rises NT$1 against the greenback, its gross margin is cut by about 1.5 percent. The NT dollar traded as strong as NT$29.59 per US dollar before trimming gains to close NT$0.919, or 2.96 percent, higher at NT$30.145 yesterday in Taipei trading