Companies listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE) saw their combined pretax profit increase more last quarter than in the second quarter, thanks to profit growth in the semiconductor, shipping and electronic components sectors, exchange data showed yesterday.
The combined pretax profit of the TWSE’s 953 listed companies, not including 14 financial firms, rose 17.5 percent year-on-year to NT$940 billion (US$30.22 billion) last quarter, higher than the second quarter’s 5.5 percent increase, but lower than the first quarter’s 27 percent rise, TWSE data showed.
TWSE-listed companies’ cumulative pretax profit for the first three quarters rose 14.93 percent annually to NT$3.64 trillion, less than the 92 percent annual increase recorded during the same period last year, when local companies benefited from an economic recovery, robust global demand for tech gadgets and skyrocketing shipping rates, the exchange said.
Photo: Maurice Tsai, Bloomberg
For this year, the main growth momentum came from the semiconductor sector, which benefited from increased demand for emerging technologies such as 5G applications, high-performance computing devices and automotive electronics, despite lower demand for consumer electronics, it said.
Even though shipping rates have dropped this year due to eased congestion at seaports worldwide, they are still high, benefiting local shipping firms, the exchange said, adding that shipping companies also benefited from the appreciation of the greenback against the New Taiwan dollar as their contracts are generally US dollar-denominated.
Meanwhile, suppliers of electronic components benefited from stable demand for 5G devices and automotive electronics, the TWSE said.
However, the flat panel, plastics and steel sectors saw a decline in cumulative pretax profit, due to inflation, rising prices of raw materials and cooler property markets, it said.
Among TWSE-listed companies, the 876 locally based firms reported that cumulative pretax profit increased 14.5 percent annually to NT$3.54 trillion, while the 77 companies registered overseas posted a 32 percent increase to NT$103.3 billion.
Merida Industry Co (美利達) has seen signs of recovery in the US and European markets this year, as customers are gradually depleting their inventories, the bicycle maker told shareholders yesterday. Given robust growth in new orders at its Taiwanese factory, coupled with its subsidiaries’ improving performance, Merida said it remains confident about the bicycle market’s prospects and expects steady growth in its core business this year. CAUTION ON CHINA However, the company must handle the Chinese market with great caution, as sales of road bikes there have declined significantly, affecting its revenue and profitability, Merida said in a statement, adding that it would
i Gasoline and diesel prices at fuel stations are this week to rise NT$0.1 per liter, as tensions in the Middle East pushed crude oil prices higher last week, CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) said yesterday. International crude oil prices last week rose for the third consecutive week due to an escalating conflict between Israel and Iran, as the market is concerned that the situation in the Middle East might affect crude oil supply, CPC and Formosa said in separate statements. Front-month Brent crude oil futures — the international oil benchmark — rose 3.75 percent to settle at US$77.01
RISING: Strong exports, and life insurance companies’ efforts to manage currency risks indicates the NT dollar would eventually pass the 29 level, an expert said The New Taiwan dollar yesterday rallied to its strongest in three years amid inflows to the nation’s stock market and broad-based weakness in the US dollar. Exporter sales of the US currency and a repatriation of funds from local asset managers also played a role, said two traders, who asked not to be identified as they were not authorized to speak publicly. State-owned banks were seen buying the greenback yesterday, but only at a moderate scale, the traders said. The local currency gained 0.77 percent, outperforming almost all of its Asian peers, to close at NT$29.165 per US dollar in Taipei trading yesterday. The
RECORD LOW: Global firms’ increased inventories, tariff disputes not yet impacting Taiwan and new graduates not yet entering the market contributed to the decrease Taiwan’s unemployment rate last month dropped to 3.3 percent, the lowest for the month in 25 years, as strong exports and resilient domestic demand boosted hiring across various sectors, the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) said yesterday. After seasonal adjustments, the jobless rate eased to 3.34 percent, the best performance in 24 years, suggesting a stable labor market, although a mild increase is expected with the graduation season from this month through August, the statistics agency said. “Potential shocks from tariff disputes between the US and China have yet to affect Taiwan’s job market,” Census Department Deputy Director Tan Wen-ling
RSS