China Development Financial Holding Corp’s (CDF, 中華開發金控) net profit in the first quarter edged downward from a year earlier because of lower investment gains and decreased earnings contributions from its investment and securities arms, the company told an investors’ conference yesterday.
The firm’s investment arm, CDIB Capital Group (中華開發資本), posted a net loss of NT$570 million (US$19.47 million) in the first quarter, compared with net profit of NT$1.62 billion a year earlier, because of investment declines.
Its securities arm, KGI Securities Ltd (凱基證券), posted net income of NT$1.37 billion, down 58 percent from a year earlier, as its trading business and bond investments were hit by market volatility.
Photo courtesy of China Development Financial Holding Co
Its life insurance unit, China Life Insurance Co (中國人壽), posted net profit of NT$8.08 billion, down 10 percent from a year earlier, due in part to credit losses of NT$1.5 billion related to Russian bond holdings.
However, as CDF fully acquired China Life on Dec. 30 last year, the holding company said it could recognize the insurer’s profit of NT$8.08 billion in the first quarter, up from the NT$4.43 billion it recognized a year earlier.
CDF said that China Life has become its most profitable unit.
The insurer posted a pre-hedge recurring rate of 3.15 percent, down from 3.25 percent a year earlier, but it reported a foreign exchange hedging gain of 0.08 percent, compared with a hedging cost of 1.49 percent a year earlier.
The insurer would primarily invest in US bonds and local stocks offering high dividends, president Stephanie Hwang (黃淑芬) said.
Banking unit KGI Bank (凱基銀行) posted net profit of NT$1.33 billion, up 26 percent, due to higher net income and net fee income.
CDF seeks good targets for mergers and acquisitions (M&As) in Taiwan and Southeast Asia to create synergy, chief executive officer Steve Bertamini told investors.
The firm hopes to boost its return on equity by a double-digit percentage through M&As over the next three to four years, he said.
Bertamini’s remarks came after CDF’s board of directors in April approved a plan to raise funds via a private placement of 2.5 billion common stock or preferred stock.
POWERING UP: PSUs for AI servers made up about 50% of Delta’s total server PSU revenue during the first three quarters of last year, the company said Power supply and electronic components maker Delta Electronics Inc (台達電) reported record-high revenue of NT$161.61 billion (US$5.11 billion) for last quarter and said it remains positive about this quarter. Last quarter’s figure was up 7.6 percent from the previous quarter and 41.51 percent higher than a year earlier, and largely in line with Yuanta Securities Investment Consulting Co’s (元大投顧) forecast of NT$160 billion. Delta’s annual revenue last year rose 31.76 percent year-on-year to NT$554.89 billion, also a record high for the company. Its strong performance reflected continued demand for high-performance power solutions and advanced liquid-cooling products used in artificial intelligence (AI) data centers,
SIZE MATTERS: TSMC started phasing out 8-inch wafer production last year, while Samsung is more aggressively retiring 8-inch capacity, TrendForce said Chipmakers are expected to raise prices of 8-inch wafers by up to 20 percent this year on concern over supply constraints as major contract chipmakers Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and Samsung Electronics Co gradually retire less advanced wafer capacity, TrendForce Corp (集邦科技) said yesterday. It is the first significant across-the-board price hike since a global semiconductor correction in 2023, the Taipei-based market researcher said in a report. Global 8-inch wafer capacity slid 0.3 percent year-on-year last year, although 8-inch wafer prices still hovered at relatively stable levels throughout the year, TrendForce said. The downward trend is expected to continue this year,
A proposed billionaires’ tax in California has ignited a political uproar in Silicon Valley, with tech titans threatening to leave the state while California Governor Gavin Newsom of the Democratic Party maneuvers to defeat a levy that he fears would lead to an exodus of wealth. A technology mecca, California has more billionaires than any other US state — a few hundred, by some estimates. About half its personal income tax revenue, a financial backbone in the nearly US$350 billion budget, comes from the top 1 percent of earners. A large healthcare union is attempting to place a proposal before
Vincent Wei led fellow Singaporean farmers around an empty Malaysian plot, laying out plans for a greenhouse and rows of leafy vegetables. What he pitched was not just space for crops, but a lifeline for growers struggling to make ends meet in a city-state with high prices and little vacant land. The future agriculture hub is part of a joint special economic zone launched last year by the two neighbors, expected to cost US$123 million and produce 10,000 tonnes of fresh produce annually. It is attracting Singaporean farmers with promises of cheaper land, labor and energy just over the border.
RSS