Steel firms saw earnings hit new records in March

Taipei, April 13, 2004 (CENS)--Thanks to a strong buying spree and price hikes, many domestic listed steel firms boasted they have scored historic-high records in revenue and profits in March.

The firms that posted historic-high records in March were: China Steel Corp. (CSC), Tung Ho Steel Enterprise Corp., Feng Hsin Iron & Steel Co., Yieh Loong Steel Corp., Yeun Chyang Industrial Co., Hsin Kuang Steel Co., and San Shing Hardware Works Co., according to their own internal-audited financial statements.

Although domestic steel prices are declining because of the impact of the political turmoil, many believed this is a temporary phenomenon. As the global economy is recovering, many domestic steel firms said they will sales performances for this year improve significantly from last year.

CSC, Taiwan's largest integrated steel producer, said it posted NT$12.663 billion (US$384.89 million at US$1:NT$32.9) in revenue in March, hitting a record single-month high. With NT$4.772 billion (US$145.04 million) in pretax earnings in March, the company reported cumulative pretax earnings of NT$12.635 billion (US$384.04 million) in the first quarter of this year, up 17.4% from the same period of last year and reaching 30.1% of the annual profit goal. The company gained NT$1.33 (US$0.04) in earnings per share (EPS) in the first quarter.

Tung Ho said it shipped 200,000 metric tons of steel products in March, a record high volume. Thanks to the price hike in steel products globally, the company posted NT$3.1 billion (US$94.22 million) in sales in March, up 73% from the same month of last year.

Despite no increase in production capacity, Tung Ho saw revenue climb 51.67% annually in the first quarter to reach NT$7.25 billion (US$220.36 million). The company attributed the sales growth to the price surge of its products.

Feng Hsin said it shipped 134,000 metric tons of steel products with sales reaching NT$2.06 billion (US$62.61 million) in March. The company had cumulative sales of NT$5.37 billion (US$163.22 million) in the first three months, up 37.6% from the same period of last year.

Yieh Loong, a CSC subsidiary, saw single-month sales break the NT$3 billion (US$91.18 million) mark for the first time in March. The company estimated its revenue to reach NT$3.185 billion in March, up 12.4% from the same month of last year. The company had cumulative sales of NT$8.493 billion (US$258.14 million) in the first quarter, up 4.7% from the corresponding period of last year. The firm said its single-month EPS reached over NT$3 (US$0.09) in the first quarter.

Yeun Chyang preliminarily estimated it posted NT$571 million (US$17.35 million) in revenue in March, up 60% from the same period of last year and a new monthly high. The company had cumulative sales of NT$1.547 billion (US$47.02 million) in the first quarter, up 63.2% from the corresponding period of last year.

San Shing posted NT$590 million (US$17.93 million) and NT$1.6 billion (US$48.63 million) in sales in March and the first quarter, respectively. The company scored new high pretax earnings of NT$160 million (USS$4.86 million) in the first quarter, reaching 29% of this year's financial projection. The company boasted it snatch NT$0.8 (USS$0.02) in EPS in the first quarter.

The company received record-high orders for bolts and nuts worth NT$510 million (US$15.5 million), its core products, in March alone. With a backlog of NT$1.7 billion (US$51.67 million) in orders, the company will see constant increase in sales in the few months to come.

Hsin Kuang estimated to garner NT$703 million (US$21.36 million) in sales in March, a new monthly high and up 56% from the same month of last year. The company boasted it snatched NT$1.87 billion (US$56.83 million) in cumulative sales in the first quarter, up 47% from the same period of last year and reaching 28% of the annual revenue goal.