Wire harness maker BizLink Holding Inc (貿聯控股) yesterday reported its highest earnings per share in seven quarters as it announced the acquisition of electrical equipment maker Easys s.r.o.
BizLink’s earnings per share for the second quarter of the year were NT$6.13, the highest since the third quarter of 2022, when it was NT$7.64, company data showed.
That came as the company’s net profit in the second quarter rose by 72.64 percent from NT$580.67 million (US$18.25 million) the previous quarter to NT$1.002 billion. On an annual basis, net profit surged 127.32 percent from NT$440.99 million, the company said in an earnings report.
Photo: Fang Wei-chieh, Taipei Times
While second-quarter revenue only grew 4.5 percent from the previous quarter and was flat from a year earlier at NT$12.98 billion, BizLink said its earnings growth was attributable to “ongoing efficiency and productivity efforts as well as favorable product mix,” which helped boost its gross margin to a 7.5-year high at 28.11 percent and raise its operating margin to a double-digit percentage again at 11.42 percent.
“The global operating environment remained challenging given rising geopolitical and macro-economic risks, but our strong execution showed through,” BizLink said.
The company said its strong bottom line allowed it to generate positive free cash flow for the seventh consecutive quarter last quarter.
“Our healthy cash balance gives us more room to make strategic moves to allocate capital for various growth projects, engage in [merger and acquisitions] M&A and continue to deleverage,” it said.
BizLink, which supplies wiring harnesses for battery management systems in Tesla Inc’s electric vehicles, said sales generated by its industrial applications segment accounted for 40 percent of total sales last quarter, followed by the information technology (IT) and data communications business’ 23 percent, 18 percent each from the automotive and electrical appliances segments, and 1 percent from other segments.
The industrial applications segment might see sales begin to grow this quarter, on the back of rising demand for capital equipment and tailor-made products, while factory automation and healthcare businesses are expected to bottom in the second half of the year, the company said.
In addition, the outlook for the IT and data communications segment looks promising, the company said, adding that US cloud service providers have allotted for more spending in new data center infrastructure and servers worldwide, which would boost data and power solutions sales.
However, BizLink said it remains conservative on the automotive segment given the ongoing industry downcycle, despite initial signs of bottoming.
The company also said it is to acquire Easys for 51.5 million euros (US$57.54 million), which would bolster its ability to fulfill semiconductor capital equipment demand using the additional capacity and new capabilities in Eastern Europe, adding that it expects to sign the definitive purchase agreement to wholly own Easys before the middle of next month.
In the first half of the year, its net profit was NT$1.58 billion, up 48.22 percent from a year earlier, earnings per share rose from NT$6.76 to NT$9.69 and revenue fell 0.83 percent to NT$25.46 billion, company data showed.
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