FOOD AND BEVERAGE
UPE’s net income drops
Uni-President Enterprises Corp (UPE, 統一企業), the nation’s largest food and beverage conglomerate, yesterday reported an annual decline in net income for last year, affected by lower contributions from its subsidiaries amid rising prices of raw materials and the COVID-19 pandemic. Its consolidated net profit was NT$19.88 billion (US$699.14 million) last year, down 7.7 percent from a year earlier, or earnings per share of NT$3.5, down from NT$3.79 in 2020. Consolidated revenue rose 5.9 percent year-on-year to NT$473.5 billion. Of Tainan-based UPE’s Taiwan subsidiaries, President Chain Store Corp’s (統一超商) net profit fell 13.4 percent, while Ton Yi Industrial Corp’s (統一實業) surged 101 percent from a year earlier, company data showed. Its Chinese unit, Uni-President China Holdings Ltd’s (統一中國控股) net profit dropped 7.7 percent.
RENEWABLE ENERGY
Motive sets up Taipei hub
UK-based Motive Offshore Group, which specializes in the design, manufacture, rental and inspection of marine and lifting equipment, yesterday said that it has set up a renewables hub in Taipei with an operational base near the Port of Taichung. Since entering the local market in 2018, the group has played an instrumental role in the development and commissioning of offshore wind projects, as well as deploying multi-sector solutions to support the local supply chain, it said in a statement. The new facility has already resulted in the creation of 10 jobs in Taipei, it said. To enhance local trade and investment in the region, Motive has joined forces with specialist organizations V-TES Renewables and PanGeo Subsea — which are based in Aberdeen, Scotland —to establish the Subsea Cable Alliance. The alliance would consolidate a complex local trade landscape through a single partner, resulting in reduced time and costs for logistics and contractual resources while enhancing vessel uptime, Motive said.
COMPUTERS
Quanta, Compal report sales
Contract notebook computer makers Quanta Computer Inc (廣達) and Compal Electronics Inc (仁寶) yesterday reported that their sales for last month were a record for February, although they were lower than the previous month, as there were fewer working days because of the Lunar New Year holiday. Revenue at Quanta decreased 10 percent month-on-month, but increased 13.2 percent year-on-year to NT$90.69 billion, the company said in a statement. It shipped 4.8 million notebook computers last month, down 1.2 million units from January. Quanta forecast that its first-quarter notebook shipments would perform better than previously, dropping less than 20 percent from a quarter earlier. Compal said in a separate statement that its sales declined 0.3 percent monthly, but rose 16.7 percent annually to NT$82.44 billion. It shipped 3.6 million laptops last month, flat from a month earlier, the company said.
SEMICONDUCTORS
Vanguard’s sales jump
Vanguard International Semiconductor Corp (世界先進) yesterday reported consolidated sales of NT$4.25 billion for last month, up 50.72 percent from NT$2.82 billion a year earlier, it said in a news release. “Due to an increase of shipments and a better product mix, net sales for February increased about 1.56 percent compared with NT$4,179 million the previous month,” Vanguard chief financial officer Amanda Huang (黃惠蘭) said in the release. Cumulative sales from January to last month increased 50.53 percent from NT$5.596 billion in the same period last year, the firm said.
Intel Corp chief executive officer Lip-Bu Tan (陳立武) is expected to meet with Taiwanese suppliers next month in conjunction with the opening of the Computex Taipei trade show, supply chain sources said on Monday. The visit, the first for Tan to Taiwan since assuming his new post last month, would be aimed at enhancing Intel’s ties with suppliers in Taiwan as he attempts to help turn around the struggling US chipmaker, the sources said. Tan is to hold a banquet to celebrate Intel’s 40-year presence in Taiwan before Computex opens on May 20 and invite dozens of Taiwanese suppliers to exchange views
Application-specific integrated circuit designer Faraday Technology Corp (智原) yesterday said that although revenue this quarter would decline 30 percent from last quarter, it retained its full-year forecast of revenue growth of 100 percent. The company attributed the quarterly drop to a slowdown in customers’ production of chips using Faraday’s advanced packaging technology. The company is still confident about its revenue growth this year, given its strong “design-win” — or the projects it won to help customers design their chips, Faraday president Steve Wang (王國雍) told an online earnings conference. “The design-win this year is better than we expected. We believe we will win
Quanta Computer Inc (廣達) chairman Barry Lam (林百里) is expected to share his views about the artificial intelligence (AI) industry’s prospects during his speech at the company’s 37th anniversary ceremony, as AI servers have become a new growth engine for the equipment manufacturing service provider. Lam’s speech is much anticipated, as Quanta has risen as one of the world’s major AI server suppliers. The company reported a 30 percent year-on-year growth in consolidated revenue to NT$1.41 trillion (US$43.35 billion) last year, thanks to fast-growing demand for servers, especially those with AI capabilities. The company told investors in November last year that
Power supply and electronic components maker Delta Electronics Inc (台達電) yesterday said it plans to ship its new 1 megawatt charging systems for electric trucks and buses in the first half of next year at the earliest. The new charging piles, which deliver up to 1 megawatt of charging power, are designed for heavy-duty electric vehicles, and support a maximum current of 1,500 amperes and output of 1,250 volts, Delta said in a news release. “If everything goes smoothly, we could begin shipping those new charging systems as early as in the first half of next year,” a company official said. The new
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