The nation’s listed companies posted pretax profits of NT$1.26 trillion (US$42.7 billion) last quarter, up 26.6 percent year-on-year and the highest first-quarter performance in the past decade, data released by the Financial Supervisory Commission showed.
The overall pretax profits of all 946 firms listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE) grew 27.31 percent year-on-year to NT$1.14 trillion in the first quarter, also the best performance in 10 years, commission data showed.
The main growth momentum came from the shipping sector, which benefited from high freight rates amid ongoing port congestion worldwide, as well as robust demand for semiconductors and electronic components, which benefited from rising demand for 5G devices and automotive electronics.
However, the financial sector posted a decline in pretax profits because of lower investment income due to interest rate increases and uncertainty on financial markets amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The photovoltaic and plastics sectors also posted contractions in pretax profits as rising inflation reduced demand, TWSE data showed.
Pretax earnings posted by the 794 firms listed on the Taipei Exchange (TPEX) grew 11.63 percent year-on-year to NT$76.8 billion last quarter, also the best performance in 10 years, commission data showed.
About 77 percent of the companies registered a net profit, with 16 posting earnings per share of more than NT$5, TPEX data showed.
The steel, photovoltaic and semiconductor sectors reported the strongest profit growth due to robust demand, the TPEX data showed.
Meanwhile, Billionton Systems Inc (互億科技) is facing the risk of being delisted from the TWSE next month as it has not submitted any financial results since the third quarter of last year, the commission said.
Taiwan Land Development Corp (台灣土地開發), which did not submit results for the first quarter, faces being delisted from the TWSE in November if it does not submit financial results for the next two quarters, the commission added.
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