Business and Finance

Hon Hai 2018 sales hit new high

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/01/11
By: Chung Jung-feng and Frances Huang

Taipei, Jan. 11 (CNA) Taiwan-based manufacturing giant Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., an iPhone assembler, saw its 2018 sales hit a new high despite market concerns over weaker-than-expected shipments of the latest iPhone models unveiled in September.

Analysts said Hon Hai was able to overcome a fall in iPhone sales by diversifying its product portfolio, helping the company post revenue of more than NT$5 trillion (US$162 billion) in 2018.

Yet the record sales number did little to energize the company’s stock, which has fallen more than 13 percent over the past three months.

On Friday, Hon Hai shares edged up 0.14 percent to close at NT$69.40 in Taipei.
[FULL  STORY]

Large traders stay on sidelines

BIG SPENDERS: The number of large traders fell to 1,137 in the fourth quarter of last year, compared with 1,507 in the third and a record level of 1,579 in the second

Taipei Times
Date: Jan 12, 2019
By: Kao Shih-ching  /  Staff reporter

Large traders held back from local equities last year due to volatility on global stock markets, although listed firms on the main bourse saw their combined revenue rise 7.33 percent for the whole of last year and the average daily turnover expanded 24.16 percent to NT$130.21 billion (US$4.23 million), according to data released by the Financial Supervisory Commission and the Taiwan Stock Exchange.

Large traders are defined as those who trade shares at or higher than NT$500 million in a quarter, Securities and Futures Bureau Deputy Director-General Tsai Li-ling (蔡麗玲) told a news conference on Thursday.

The number of large traders fell to 1,137 in the fourth quarter of last year, compared with 1,507 in the third quarter and a record level of 1,579 in the second quarter, the data showed.

A quarterly drop of 370 large traders marked not only the highest quarterly fall since the 552 recorded in the second quarter of 2012, but also reflected the impact of negative factors such as a more than 10 percent decline in the TAIEX in October, volatile US equity markets and concerns over the US Federal Reserve’s interest rate hikes, Tsai told the Taipei Times by telephone yesterday.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan’s ASUS sees sales drop by more than 10%

U.S.-China trade war was factor in downbeat final quarter of 2018

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/01/09
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Electronics group Asustek Computer Inc. (華碩), also known as

A model shows Zenfone smartphones from ASUS. (By Central News Agency)

ASUS, saw its sales drop by more than 10 percent during the final quarter of 2018 compared to the same period the previous year, mainly due to the trade war between the United States and China.

The company, based in Taipei City’s Beitou District, announced Wednesday that its brand had recorded sales of NT$88.1 billion (US$2.85 billion) for the fourth quarter of last year, amounting to a fall of 6 percent compared to the previous quarter and to a drop of 15 percent from the last quarter of 2017.

For the group as a whole, consolidated sales amounted to NT$99.4 billion (US$3.22 billion), or 3 percent less than the third quarter of 2018 and down 13 percent from the last quarter of the previous year, the Central News Agency reported.

As seen for all of 2018, sales for the brand was down 10 percent from 2017 to NT$352.4 billion (US$11.44 billion) , with consolidated sales down 9.7 percent to NT$391.5 billion (US$12.71 billion).    [FULL  STORY]

TSMC 2018 revenue hits new high

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/01/10
By: Chang Chien-chung and Flor Wang

Taipei, Jan. 10 (CNA) Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), the world’s

CNA file photo

largest contract chip maker, set a new record for annual net revenue in 2018, the company reported Thursday.

TSMC’s revenue for the year passed the NT$1 trillion mark, totaling NT$1.031 trillion (US$33.48 billion), up 5.5 percent from 2017, which was slightly lower than the previous forecast of 6 percent growth, the company said.

In the fourth quarter, the company also registered a record quarterly high of NT$289.771 billion, representing an 11.3 percent increase quarter-on-quarter.

As the demand from Apple Inc. weakened in November and December, the company’s revenue fell to NT$89.831 billion in December, a monthly decline of 8.7 percent and the lowest for five months.    [FULL  STORY]

Largan to proceed with expansion plan

ADDED FEATURES: CEO Adam Lin said that price erosion was not a concern, as the complexity of front-facing camera units would increase as technology improves

Taipei Times
Date: Jan 11, 2019
By: Ted Chen  /  Staff reporter

Smartphone lens maker Largan Precision Co (大立光) is to proceed with its expansion plans, despite slowing growth in the global market, Largan chief executive officer Adam Lin (林恩平) told a teleconference with investors yesterday.

The company’s added capacity would be filled as smartphone designs continue to trend toward triple-camera configurations, sustaining demand for lenses, Lin said.

Concurrently, the company’s leading-edge seven-piece lenses began shipping at the end of last year, with many of them being used in triple-camera configurations, he said.

The company would refrain from taking orders with subpar profitability to fill expanded capacity, instead looking for viable opportunities in other high-end applications such as 3D sensing and in-display fingerprint sensing, he said.

“We are not concerned about price erosion,” Lin said.    [FULL  STORY]

EU steel tariffs to hit Taiwan exports

Tariffs to be imposed next month, will last for 3 years

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/01/09
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

Taiwanese steel products to face new EU tariffs next month (By Central News Agency)

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Steel exports from Taiwan could be affected by 25-percent tariffs to be imposed by the European Union on February 2 in retaliation against U.S. tariffs, reports said Wednesday.

The new European tariffs will remain valid for three years, the Liberty Times reported.

Asustek Q4 sales down over 10 percent year-on-year

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/01/09
By: Jeffrey Wu and Frances Huang

CNA file photo

Taipei, Jan. 9 (CNA) Asustek Computer Inc., one of the largest PC brands in Taiwan, said Wednesday that its consolidated sales for the fourth quarter of last year fell more than 10 percent from a year earlier, at a time when trade tensions between the United States and China affected global demand.

The company also cited a component shortage in the PC industry as a reason for the drop in sales in the October-December period.

In a statement, Asustek said it posted NT$99.4 billion (US$3.23 billion), down 13 percent from a year earlier and also down 3 percent from the previous quarter.

Meanwhile, Asustek said it generated NT$88.1 billion in brand sales in the fourth quarter, down 15 percent from a year earlier and also down 6 percent from a quarter earlier.    [FULL  STORY]

Yageo to compensate for revenue drop

SHORT-TERM CORRECTION: The company said that its Chinese customers had been conservative about their business outlook last month, due to the US-China trade spat

Taipei Times
Date: Jan 10, 2019
By: Lisa Wang  /  Staff reporter

Multilayer ceramic capacitor (MLCC) supplier Yageo Corp (國巨) yesterday said it plans to trim its capacity expansion targets for this year after sagging demand drove last month’s revenue down to its weakest level in nine months.

Last month, revenue dropped 15.7 percent to NT$4.53 billion (US$147.07 million) from NT$5.38 billion in November last year, the lowest since March last year.

Yageo said it attributed sluggish demand for passive components used in most consumer electronics to a short-term correction.

Shipments to its customers in America and Europe fell during the holiday season, Yageo said in a company statement, adding that its Chinese customers remained conservative about their business outlook due to the US-China trade dispute.
[FULL  STORY]

Southern Taiwan’s Kaohsiung Intl world’s most punctual mid-sized airport in 2018

A report assessing flight data from the world’s airports in 2018 was released by VariFlight at the start of the new year

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/01/08
By: Duncan DeAeth, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

Kaohsiung International Airport viewed from above (By Central News Agency)

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Among the world’s medium-sized airports, Kaohsiung International Airport was recognized as the leading airport in On-Time Performance (OTP) for the year of 2018.

The aviation data technology provider, VariFlight, released their annual report last week which found Kaohsiung Airport’s performance to be the most punctual among the world’s medium sized airports.    [FULL  STORY]

Credit card spending expected to top NT$2.8 trillion in 2018: FSC

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/01/08
By: Tien Yu-pin and Frances Huang 

Taipei, Jan. 8 (CNA) Taiwan is expected to report more than NT$2.8 trillion (US$90.91 billion) in credit card spending for 2018, a new high at a time when cashless payment has gained in popularity among local consumers, the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) said Tuesday.

Data compiled by the FSC, the top financial regulator in Taiwan, showed that credit card spending in the first 11 months of last year totaled NT$2.64 trillion, beating the previous high of NT$2.62 trillion recorded for 2017.

In November 2018, credit card spending totaled NT$246.6 billion, down NT$10.5 billion from October. However, with December an important shopping period, the figure is likely to rebound and push up annual credit card spending further, the FSC said.

With annual credit card spending expected to pass NT$2.8 trillion, 2018 will be the ninth consecutive year spending has hit a new annual high, according to the FSC.
[FULL  STORY]