TAIPEI: The four major units of Formosa Plastics Group, the nation’s largest industrial conglomerate, yesterday reported combined revenues of NT$108.39 billion (US$3.34 billion) for last month, down 5.4 percent from March and 17.8 percent from a year earlier.
The four — Formosa Plastics Corp, Formosa Petrochemical Corp, Nan Ya Plastics Corp and Formosa Chemicals & Fibre Corp— attributed the decline to a higher comparison base in March, when deliveries rose after the Lunar New Year holidays in February, and early orders from clients.
Regular maintenances and a few temporary fixes, which reduced production output, also contributed to the decline, the group said at a news conference.
Bucking the downtrend, Formosa Petrochemical, the nation’s only listed oil refiner, saw its revenue edge up 0.3 percent to NT$42.7 billion last month from NT$42.59 billion a month ago on the back of better crude oil prices and capacity utilization rates.
However, on an annual basis, revenue fell 22.3 percent from NT$54.95 billion.
“We completed our maintenance last month, which boosted the refining business’ daily output, lifting last month’s output by 79,000 barrels. The olefin segment’s utilization rate also hit 102 percent last month,” Formosa Petrochemical president Tsao Mihn said.
International crude oil prices last month rose by US$3.9 per barrel from the previous month, boosting the company’s product prices by an average of US$3.6 per barrel, Tsao said.
However, the company is conservative about this quarter’s outlook, given a persistent oil supply glut, Tsao said.
“As there was no significant outcome from the major oil producers’ Doha conference on freezing oil output, crude oil prices are likely to fluctuate around current levels,” he said, adding that the company would strive to grow earnings by boosting volumes.
Formosa Chemicals president Hong Fu-yuan agreed, saying that petrochemical product prices are likely to remain flat or increase slightly.
The company posted revenue of NT$26.87 billion for last month, down 6.6 percent from NT$28.77 billion in March and 11.1 percent from NT$30.22 billion the same month last year.
Formosa Plastics president Jason Lin said that with polyvinyl chloride (PVC) supply tightening as the market moves into its peak season, the company expects to see growth in revenue and profit this quarter.
The company reported revenue of NT$15.2 billion for last month, dropping 12.9 percent from NT$17.46 billion a month ago and 15.7 percent from NT$18.03 billion a year ago.
Nan Ya Plastics, the nation’s largest plastics manufacturer, reported revenue of NT$23.62 billion for last month, sliding 8.2 percent from NT$25.73 billion a month ago and 17.8 percent from NT$28.73 billion the previous year.
Addressing recent reports of mass fish deaths near subsidiary Formosa Ha Tinh Steel Corp’s plant in Vietnam, Hong said the Hanoi government had confirmed that the deaths were caused by a “red tide,” not discharge from the plant.
