Taipei, Feb. 8, 2010 (CENS)--Thanks to the rising quotation prices for major petrochemical products, the four major subsidiaries of the Formosa Plastics Group (FPG) scored NT$130.8 billion (US$4.08 billon at US$1:NT$32) in combined sales in January, representing a whopping year-on-year growth of 90.42% and hitting the highest revenue record in one year.
The group`s four major subsidiaries are Formosa Plastics Corp. (FPC), Nan Ya Plastics Corp., Formosa Chemical & Fibre Corp. and Formosa Petrochemical Corp. Each of the four firms registered annual sales growth of between 81% and 109% in January.
FPG chairman William Wang is optimistic about the business outlook for his group as market demand is on the rise and the group has seen production lines fully operational. He believes the group`s four major subsidiaries will see a double-digit sales growth this year.
The group`s four major subsidiaries also saw increase in profitability. FPCC is expected to score approximately NT$5 billion (US$156.25 million) in earnings in January. The other three firms will see first-quarter earnings doubled from a year earlier.
FPG said the quotation prices for petrochemical products have hit a historic high in the first quarter of this year. Some most popular petrochemical products even saw quotation prices break the US$2,000 mark per metric ton.
Although the number of working days in February will be cut because of the Chinese New Year holidays, FPG still sees a promising outlook as the domestic quotation prices for some petrochemical products have risen by 3% up to 11%. Because of strong market demand, the quotation prices for such major petrochemical products as EG (ethylene glycol), AN (acrylonitrile), PVC (polyvinyl choride), and PE (polyethylene) are on the rise.
An institutional investor estimated the FPG`s four major subsidiaries will be able to score between 30% and 40% annual growth in sales this year. Of them, Nan Ya and FCFC will benefit from production expansion.
| Sales Performance of FPG’s Four Major Subsidiaries Unit: NT$100 million |
| Firm | Sales in January 2010 | Sales in December 2009 | Month-on-Month Growth |
| Formosa Plastics | 159.9 | 155.85 | 2.6 |
| Nan Ya Plastics | 175.6 | 170.99 | 2.7 |
| Formosa Chemical & Fibre | 240.55 | 217.84 | 10.43 |
| Formosa Petrochemical | 732.81 | 680.51 | 7.69 |
| Total | 1,380.86 | 1,225.19 | 6.83 |
| Source: respective firms |
(by Ben Shen)
