Sales generated by the companies listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE) rose almost 9 percent from a year earlier in January, led by the shipping, oil, gas, electricity, and semiconductor industries, according to the exchange.
The revenue posted by the 885 domestic companies and 77 companies incorporated overseas listed on the exchange totaled NT$3.34 trillion (US$120 billion) in January, up 8.92 percent year-on-year, according to data compiled by the TWSE.
Of the 962 listed companies, 611 posted year-on-year revenue growth and 351 saw a fall in sales, the data showed.
The 885 Taiwanese firms had sales of NT$3.27 trillion in January, up 9.08 percent from a year earlier, while the 77 foreign firms reported NT$70.9 billion in sales, up 1.87 percent from a year earlier, according to the TWSE.
The TWSE said companies in the shipping sector posted the highest sales growth of any sector in January. Their revenues of NT$169.7 billion for the month were up 82.87 percent, helped by a container freight shortage that drove up freight rates.
Among the biggest gainers, Evergreen Marine Corp., Taiwan’s largest container cargo shipper, saw consolidated sales rise 99.9 percent in January from the previous year to NT$56.84 billion.
Similarly, rivals Yang Ming Marine Transport Corp. and Wan Hai Lines Ltd. registered 74.07 percent and 140.03 percent year-on-year increases in sales, respectively, to NT$35.59 billion and NT$32.51 billion.
A rise in international crude oil prices led to higher petrochemical product prices, helping companies in the oil, gas and electricity sectors see their sales rising 47.45 percent from a year earlier to NT$69.3 billion in January.
Among them, Formosa Petrochemical Corp., Taiwan’s biggest private oil refiner, posted a 52.5 percent year-on-year increase in consolidated sales during the month to NT$64.42 billion.
The semiconductor industry came in third in sales growth at 28.53 percent on sales of NT$396.9 billion, as emerging technologies such as 5G applications and automotive electronics boosted demand for chips, the TWSE said.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, smashed its monthly revenue record again in January with consolidated sales of NT$172.18 billion, up 35.8 percent from a year earlier.
Smartphone chip designer MediaTek Inc. also performed well, generating NT$43.50 billion in consolidated sales in January, up 23.12 percent from a year earlier.
Underperformers
The rubber/plastics industry saw the steepest fall in sales in January, when its revenue fell 16.96 percent from a year earlier to NT$18.6 billion due to weaker demand for car tires and medical gloves, the TWSE said.
The financial services and insurance sectors also saw revenue fall in January, by 10.89 percent from a year earlier to NT$241.5 billion, largely because of a decline in returns on investment by insurance firms, the TWSE said.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel