Formosa Plastics Group (台塑集團), Taiwan’s largest industrial conglomerate, yesterday posted overall revenue of NT$118.61 billion (US$3.66 billion) for last month, marking a 7.2 percent rise from October, but a 2.5 percent fall from one year earlier.
The group has mixed views about its business outlook for the current quarter and beyond, as uncertainty builds over the US power transition and geopolitical tensions.
Formosa Plastics Corp (台灣塑膠), a vertically integrated supplier of plastic resins and petrochemicals, reported a monthly uptick of 15.3 percent in its revenue to NT$18.15 billion, as Typhoon Kong-rey postponed partial shipments slated for October and last month, it said.
Photo: CNA
The company is expecting a decline in revenue for this month, as it would idle more plants to cope with slack demand.
The financial performance for this quarter might hold steady compared with the previous quarter, without improving next quarter, it said.
The number of working days would decrease in the first quarter of next year due to the Lunar New Year holiday, but utilization rates would rise modestly with the advent of high season, it said.
US president-elect Donald Trump’s protectionist talk might prompt Asian customers to replenish inventory ahead of his inauguration to dodge tariff hikes, it said, adding that the company would be flexible and agile to meet customer demand.
Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化), engaged primarily in the business of refining crude oil, selling refined petroleum products and producing and selling olefins from its naphtha cracking operations, booked NT$51.24 billion in revenue, up 12.7 percent from one month earlier, as cold weather boosted energy demand but a supply glut weighed on international oil prices, it said.
The company aims to produce 426,000 barrels per day this month, keeping refining capacity at 71 percent and oil cracking capacity at 53 percent for this quarter, it said.
Formosa Chemicals and Fibre Corp (台灣化學纖維), which produces and sells petrochemical products, nylon fibers and rayon staple fibers in Taiwan and abroad, saw its revenue grow 2 percent to NT$27.25 billion on better market diversification practices, it said.
However, sales are set to decline this month, as China fails to emerge from the woods despite the introduction of stimulus measures and peace remains elusive in the Middle East, which is unfavorable for petrochemical products, it said.
Nan Ya Plastics Corp (南亞塑膠), whose main business involves making processed plastic and chemical products, electronic materials and polyester fiber, recorded NT$21.97 billion revenue, a 3.5 percent retreat from October, attributable to the low season and the Thanksgiving holiday in the US, the firm said.
Business would improve somewhat this month but stagnate next quarter due to the Lunar New Year holiday in Taiwan, it said.
Elon Musk’s lieutenants have reached out to chip industry suppliers, including Applied Materials Inc, Tokyo Electron Ltd and Lam Research Corp, for his envisioned Terafab, early steps in an audacious and likely arduous attempt to break into the production of cutting-edge chips. Staff working for the joint venture between Tesla Inc and Space Exploration Technologies Corp (SpaceX) have sought price quotes and delivery times for an array of chipmaking gear, people familiar with the matter said. In past weeks, they’ve contacted makers of photomasks, substrates, etchers, depositors, cleaning devices, testers and other tools, according to the people, who asked not to
Taichung reported the steepest fall in completed home prices among the six special municipalities in the first quarter of this year, data compiled by Taiwan Realty Co (台灣房屋) showed yesterday. From January through last month, the average transaction price for completed homes in Taichung fell 8 percent from a year earlier to NT$299,000 (US$9,483) per ping (3.3m²), said Taiwan Realty, which compiled the data based on the government’s price registration platform. The decline could be attributed to many home buyers choosing relatively affordable used homes to live in themselves, instead of newly built homes in the city’s prime property market, Taiwan Realty
The government yesterday approved applications by Alphabet Inc’s Google to invest NT$27.08 billion (US$859.98 million) in Taiwan, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said in a statement. The Department of Investment Review approved two investments proposed by Google, with much of the funds to be used for data processing and electronic information supply services, as well as inventory procurement businesses in the semiconductor field, the ministry said. It marks the second consecutive year that Google has applied to increase its investment in Taiwan. Google plans to infuse NT$25.34 billion into Charter Investments Ltd (特許投資顧問) through its Singapore-based subsidiary Fructan Holdings Singapore Pte Ltd, and
JET JUICE: The war on Iran’s secondary effects have seen fuel prices skyrocket, knocking flight schedules down to earth in return as airlines struggle with costs Airline passengers should brace for more irritation in the next few months as carriers worldwide cancel flights and ground planes to cope with stratospheric increases in jet-fuel prices. Dutch flag carrier KLM is the latest company to cut its schedule, saying on Thursday that it would scrap 80 return flights at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport in the coming month. That puts it in the same league as United Airlines Holdings Inc, Deutsche Lufthansa AG and Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd, which have all pruned itineraries to mitigate costs. Global capacity for next month has been reduced by about 3 percentage points, with all
RSS