Three of the four major units of Formosa Plastics Group (FPG, 台塑集團), the nation’s largest industrial conglomerate, returned to profitability in the first quarter of this year, while another unit posted a smaller loss than the previous quarter on the back of improving market fundamentals.
Formosa Plastics Corp (台灣塑膠), Nan Ya Plastics Corp (南亞塑膠) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) posted net profits of NT$2.34 billion (US$75.47 million), NT$864 million and NT$4.44 billion in the first three months of the year respectively, the companies said in separate regulatory filings yesterday.
Formosa Chemicals and Fibre Corp (台灣化學纖維) reported a net loss of NT$755 million last quarter, down from a net loss of NT$7.46 billion the previous quarter, a regulatory filing showed.
Photo: Chang Hui-wen, Taipei Times
Overall, the four FPG units posted a combined net profit of NT$6.89 billion in the first quarter, compared with a combined net loss of NT$25.29 billion in the fourth quarter of last year, but last quarter’s total remained 86.6 percent less than the same period of last year, data showed.
Formosa Plastics Corp, the group’s flagship company, said its improved bottom line last quarter, compared with a net loss of NT$7.3 billion the previous quarter, reflected recovering demand and higher product prices, as well as higher investment gains and larger spreads between revenues and material costs.
The company’s sales in the first quarter were NT$52.21 billion, up 2.2 percent from the previous quarter, and it expects higher sales this quarter coupled with improved capacity utilization, as the industry enters the high season, while its operations in the US benefited from lower natural gas costs.
Nan Ya Plastics Corp, the nation’s largest plastics maker, attributed last quarter’s profit, compared with a NT$660 million loss the previous quarter, to improved performances in the electronics, chemical and plastic processing businesses, even though customers continued to deplete their inventories.
While the company’s sales last quarter decreased 13.2 percent quarter-on-quarter to NT$65.77 billion, investment gains helped boost its profitability, it said.
As some negative factors, such as high inventory in supply chains, are expected to wane gradually and consumption momentum is likely to turn stronger, the firm’s sales are expected to recover from this quarter onward, the company said.
Formosa Petrochemical, which posted a NT$9.88 billion loss in the fourth quarter of last year, said last quarter’s results came as it earned more in the refinery business, but suffered a smaller loss at its naphtha cracking business.
The nation’s only listed oil refiner reported first-quarter sales of NT$184.64 billion, down 4.9 percent quarter-on-quarter, and said it is cautious about the sales outlook for this quarter.
That is because crude oil prices might not benefit much from an output cut by OPEC+ as the US economy appears to be slowing, which would dent oil demand, the company said.
Formosa Chemicals and Fibre, which manufactures aromatics and styrenics, said its loss improved markedly last quarter on better cost controls and investment gains, but adverse factors such as high inflation, a slower recovery in China, inventory in supply chains and new capacity from peers could still weigh on product prices and its business performance.
The company forecast sales for this quarter would be flat from last quarter’s NT$83.03 billion, while revenue this month could be lower than the NT$29.43 billion it booked for last month, it said.
PATENTS: MediaTek Inc said it would not comment on ongoing legal cases, but does not expect the legal action by Huawei to affect its business operations Smartphone integrated chips designer MediaTek Inc (聯發科) on Friday said that a lawsuit filed by Chinese smartphone brand Huawei Technologies Co (華為) over alleged patent infringements would have little impact on its operations. In an announcement posted on the Taiwan Stock Exchange, MediaTek said that it would not comment on an ongoing legal case. However, the company said that Huawei’s legal action would have little impact on its operations. MediaTek’s statement came after China-based PRIP Research said on Thursday that Huawei filed a lawsuit with a Chinese district court claiming that MediaTek infringed on its patents. The infringement mentioned in the lawsuit likely involved
Taipei is today suspending work, classes and its US$2.4 trillion stock market as Typhoon Gaemi approaches Taiwan with strong winds and heavy rain. The nation is not conducting securities, currency or fixed income trading, statements from its stock and currency exchanges said. Authorities had yesterday issued a warning that the storm could affect people on land and canceled some ship crossings and domestic flights. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) expects its local chipmaking fabs to maintain normal production, the company said in an e-mailed statement. The main chipmaker for Apple Inc and Nvidia Corp said it has activated routine typhoon alert
GROWTH: TSMC increased its projected revenue growth for this year to more than 25 percent, citing stronger-than-expected demand for AI devices and smartphones The Taiwan Institute of Economic Research (TIER, 台灣經濟研究院) yesterday raised its forecast for Taiwan’s GDP growth this year from 3.29 percent to 3.85 percent, as exports and private investment recovered faster than it predicted three months ago. The Taipei-based think tank also expects that Taiwan would see a 8.19 percent increase in exports this year, better than the 7.55 percent it projected in April, as US technology giants spent more money on artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure and development. “There will be more AI servers going forward, but it remains to be seen if the momentum would extend to personal computers, smartphones and
Catastrophic computer outages caused by a software update from one company have once again exposed the dangers of global technological dependence on a handful of players, experts said on Friday. A flawed update sent out by the little-known security firm CrowdStrike Holdings Inc brought airlines, TV stations and myriad other aspects of daily life to a standstill. The outages affected companies or individuals that use CrowdStrike on the Microsoft Inc’s Windows platform. When they applied the update, the incompatible software crashed computers into a frozen state known as the “blue screen of death.” “Today CrowdStrike has become a household name, but not in