Delta Electronics Q3 net profit hits record high

Taipei, Oct. 30 (CNA) Delta Electronics Co., a Taiwan-based power management system solutions provider, on Tuesday reported a record high quarterly net profit, citing high demand for tech gadgets and its price increases in the peak months of July to September.

The company posted NT$6.09 billion (US$196 million) in third-quarter net profit, the highest in its history, up 85.8 percent from the previous quarter and 11.4 percent from a year earlier.

Its earnings per share for the third quarter was NT$2.35, its second highest ever after NT$2.42 in the third quarter of 2015.

Market analysts said Delta Electronics' profit margin and its profitability as a whole was strengthened in the third-quarter peak season by strong global demand despite stiff competition from Chinese companies in the first half of the year, particularly those that produce power management devices for personal computers.

In the third quarter, Delta Electronics' gross margin -- which reflects the difference between revenue and cost of goods sold -- rose 2.89 percentage points from the previous quarter to 27.94 percent and 0.86 percentage points from a year earlier.

Its operating margin -- the difference between sales and the cost of goods sold and operating expenses -- grew 3.33 percentage points from the second quarter and 0.26 percentage points from a year earlier to 9.38 percent.

In the first nine months of this year, Delta Electronics' net profit was NT$12.35 billion, down 10.8 percent from a year earlier, in reflection of a weak first half.

The company's EPS for the nine-month period was NT$4.68, compared with NT$5.24 a year earlier.

On Tuesday, shares of Delta Electronics rose 4.60 percent to close at NT$125.00 on the Taiwan Stock Exchange, outperforming the broader market, where the benchmark weighted index ended up 0.10 percent at 9,526.11 points.

Analysts said the company's share price is likely to climb further, after its period of consolidation due to its disappointing bottom line in the first half of the year.