Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, last year remained the most profitable company in Taiwan, Taipei-based credit information company CRIF (中華徵信所) said.
Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), a major iPhone assembler also known as Foxconn (富士康), generated the most in sales in the country last year, CRIF said in its latest top-5,000 company report.
Last year, the top 5,000 companies in Taiwan, comprised of entities in the public and private sectors, posted NT$3.58 trillion (US$110.2 billion) in combined net profit, down 17.72 percent from a year earlier, while their aggregate revenue totaled NT$40.55 trillion, down 6.05 percent year-on-year.
Photo: Ann Wang, Reuters
The decline in net profit and sales is largely related to high inflation and inventory adjustments in the global supply chains, CRIF said.
As Taiwan is a major supplier of the world’s high-tech gadgets, the country is prone to the impact from global economic weakness, it added.
A total of 2,082 Taiwanese companies saw their sales falling year-on-year last year, while 1,107 businesses enjoyed growth in sales and net profit, it said.
Out of the 1,107 companies, 664 generated more than NT$1 billion in sales each, accounting for 59.98 percent, it said.
Among the top 5,000 firms in Taiwan, TSMC, which boasts advanced chip production technologies, raked in NT$838.5 billion last year, keeping the title as the most profitable company in Taiwan, it said.
Hon Hai was second after registering NT$142.1 billion in net profit, ahead of smartphone IC designer MediaTek Inc (聯發科, NT$77 billion), Fubon Financial Holding Co (富邦金控, NT$65 billion) and United Microelectronics Corp (聯電, NT$61 billion), CRIF said.
Other profitable companies last year included CTBC Financial Holding Co (中信金控, NT$57.6 billion), Cathay Financial Holding Co (國泰金控, NT$51.5 billion), CTBC Bank (中國信託銀行, NT$41.3 billion), contract notebook computer maker Quanta Computer Inc (廣達, NT$39.7 billion) and telecom services provider Chunghwa Telecom Co (中華電信, NT$36.9 billion).
Cathay Financial rose from 11th spot in 2022 to No. 7 last year, Quanta Computer returned to the top 10 for the first time since 2013; and Chunghwa Telecom rose back to the top 10 list after being absent for two years, according to CRIF.
Hon Hai generated NT$3.45 billion in sales last year, the most among the 5,000 companies, with its ranking unchanged from a year earlier. It was followed by TSMC (NT$2.15 trillion); Pegatron Corp (和碩, NT$1.18 trillion) state-owned oil supplier CPC Corp, Taiwan (中油, NT$1.10 trillion), and Quanta Computer (NT$907.95 billion), CRIF said.
Real estate agent and property developer JSL Construction & Development Co (愛山林) led the average compensation rankings among companies listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE) last year, while contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) finished 14th. JSL Construction paid its employees total average compensation of NT$4.78 million (US$159,701), down 13.5 percent from a year earlier, but still ahead of the most profitable listed tech giants, including TSMC, TWSE data showed. Last year, the average compensation (which includes salary, overtime, bonuses and allowances) paid by TSMC rose 21.6 percent to reach about NT$3.33 million, lifting its ranking by 10 notches
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