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.
SEEKING CLARITY: Washington should not adopt measures that create uncertainties for ‘existing semiconductor investments,’ TSMC said referring to its US$165 billion in the US Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) told the US that any future tariffs on Taiwanese semiconductors could reduce demand for chips and derail its pledge to increase its investment in Arizona. “New import restrictions could jeopardize current US leadership in the competitive technology industry and create uncertainties for many committed semiconductor capital projects in the US, including TSMC Arizona’s significant investment plan in Phoenix,” the chipmaker wrote in a letter to the US Department of Commerce. TSMC issued the warning in response to a solicitation for comments by the department on a possible tariff on semiconductor imports by US President Donald Trump’s
The government has launched a three-pronged strategy to attract local and international talent, aiming to position Taiwan as a new global hub following Nvidia Corp’s announcement that it has chosen Taipei as the site of its Taiwan headquarters. Nvidia cofounder and CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) on Monday last week announced during his keynote speech at the Computex trade show in Taipei that the Nvidia Constellation, the company’s planned Taiwan headquarters, would be located in the Beitou-Shilin Technology Park (北投士林科技園區) in Taipei. Huang’s decision to establish a base in Taiwan is “primarily due to Taiwan’s talent pool and its strength in the semiconductor
An earnings report from semiconductor giant and artificial intelligence (AI) bellwether Nvidia Corp takes center stage for Wall Street this week, as stocks hit a speed bump of worries over US federal deficits driving up Treasury yields. US equities pulled back last week after a torrid rally, as investors turned their attention to tax and spending legislation poised to swell the US government’s US$36 trillion in debt. Long-dated US Treasury yields rose amid the fiscal worries, with the 30-year yield topping 5 percent and hitting its highest level since late 2023. Stocks were dealt another blow on Friday when US President Donald
UNCERTAINTY: Investors remain worried that trade negotiations with Washington could go poorly, given Trump’s inconsistency on tariffs in his second term, experts said The consumer confidence index this month fell for a ninth consecutive month to its lowest level in 13 months, as global trade uncertainties and tariff risks cloud Taiwan’s economic outlook, a survey released yesterday by National Central University found. The biggest decline came from the timing for stock investments, which plunged 11.82 points to 26.82, underscoring bleak investor confidence, it said. “Although the TAIEX reclaimed the 21,000-point mark after the US and China agreed to bury the hatchet for 90 days, investors remain worried that the situation would turn sour later,” said Dachrahn Wu (吳大任), director of the university’s Research Center for
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