Tile maker Champion Building Materials Co (冠軍建材) yesterday announced plans to raise product prices by 7 to 13 percent starting next month to reflect rising raw material, labor and electricity costs.
The price adjustments are to take effect on the same day the government increases electricity charges on heavy users by 17 percent in a bid to keep loss-making Taiwan Power Co (Taipower, 台電) afloat.
Tile makers have come under cost pressures over the past year, due to rising energy and commodity prices abroad, and rapid increases in labor and electricity costs at home, the Miaoli County-based company’s spokeswoman Wenny Liao (廖蕙儀) said in a statement.
A volatile foreign exchange rate has made things worse, she said.
The 17 percent rise in electricity prices next month on top of a 15 percent hike in June last year would amount to a 32 percent adjustment within a year, with further hikes possible, as Taipower remains deeply in the red.
Suppliers of packing cartons, pallets, raw materials, glazes and transportation services would likely follow suit and raise charges, Liao said.
Champion has no choice but to raise product prices to maintain its product quality, she said, adding that prices of food and beverage, steel, travel and daily necessities have soared more than 20 percent.
The company said that it is conservative about business this quarter and its manufacturing facilities would undergo annual maintenance during the slow season.
The maintenance would affect its operations and financial performance, but not its plan to gain market share in Taiwan, the company said.
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