Taipei, Jan. 12 (CNA) The combined sales of listed companies on the local main board and the over-the-counter (OTC) market set a new record in 2018 at a time of an economic recovery, according to government statistics.
The statistics show that the aggregate revenue of stock listed companies totaled NT$35.12 trillion (US$1.14 trillion) in 2018, up 8.2 percent from a year earlier.
The local economy recovered fast in the first half of last year when global demand appeared solid, before the pace showed signs of slowing, largely amid concerns over trade tension between the United States and China.
In 2018, most of the top 10 companies in terms of revenue came from the bellwether electronics sector as Taiwan's export-oriented economy was boosted by global demand, in particular in the first half of last year.
Formosa Petrochemical Corp. and Cathay Financial Holding Co. were the only two non-tech companies in the top 10.
iPhone assembler Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., also known as Foxconn on the global market, retained the No. 1 position after generating NT$5.296 trillion in consolidated sales, up 12.51 percent from a year earlier.
The figure beat market estimates of NT$5.1 trillion. Analysts said Hon Hai's efforts to diversify its product portfolio helped offset the impact from slower than expected sales of the latest iPhones, which were unveiled in September.
Pegatron Corp., another iPhone assembler, remained in second spot, posting NT$1.34 trillion in consolidated sales in 2018, up 12.3 percent from a year earlier.
Contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., the largest contract chipmaker in the world, replaced contract electronics manufacturer Quanta Computer Inc. in third place after reporting NT$1.031 trillion in consolidated sales in 2018, up 5.5 percent from a year earlier.
Quanta, the world's largest notebook computer ODM service provider, posted NT$1.028 trillion in consolidated sales in 2018, up 0.65 percent from a year earlier to take fourth place ahead of contract notebook computer maker Compal Electronics Inc., the consolidated sales of which totaled NT$967.68 billion, up 9 percent.
Wistron Corp., another iPhone assembler, came in sixth, generating NT$889.26 billion in consolidated sales in 2018, up 6.4 percent from a year earlier, followed by Formosa Petrochemical (NT$767.5 billion, up 22.98 percent), electronic products distributor WPG Holdings Ltd. (NT$545.12 billion, up 2.4 percent), contract notebook computer maker Inventec Corp. (NT$506.87 billion, up 8.4 percent), and Cathay Financial (NT$477.03 billion, down 18.38 percent).
However, analysts cautioned that the Washington-Beijing trade disputes and a slowing global economy could create uncertainty over demand and impact the performance of local listed firms for 2019.
(By Han Ting-ting and Frances Huang)
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