TWSE-listed companies post record pretax profit in 2021

Taipei, April 2 (CNA) Companies listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE), Taiwan's main stock market, saw their combined net income rise more than 70 percent in 2021 from a year earlier to a record high, according to the exchange.

In a statement, the TWSE said the 883 Taiwanese companies and 76 overseas companies with primary listings on the exchange totaled NT$5.02 trillion (US$176 billion) in aggregate pretax income, up 74.03 percent from a year earlier.

The record profits were largely driven by strong showings by companies in the shipping, semiconductor and financial/insurance sectors, the statement said.

Shipping companies benefited from a spike in freight rates amid worldwide port congestion and supply shortages exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Among the profitable shipping companies, Evergreen Marine Corp., the largest container cargo shipper in Taiwan, posted net income of NT$239 billion, up 880 percent from a year earlier, while rival Wan Hai Lines Ltd. saw net income soar 813 percent to NT$103.34 billion.

The semiconductor industry capitalized on the booming stay-at-home economy amid COVID-19 and growing demand for emerging technologies such as 5G applications, high performance computing devices, and automotive electronics, the TWSE statement said.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), the world's largest contact chipmaker, posted record net income of NT$596.54 billion in 2021, up 15.2 percent from a year earlier.

Smartphone IC designer MediaTek Inc. set a record of its own with net income of NT$111.87 billion, up 170 percent from a year earlier.

Companies in the financial services sector benefited from loan growth as well as booming global capital markets, which boosted their investment returns.

Fubon Financial Holding Co. was Taiwan's most profitable financial holding company with net income of NT$144.6 billion in 2021, up 60.1 percent from a year earlier, and earnings per share of NT$12.49.

Cathay Financial Holding Co. came in second with net income of NT$140.57 billion, up 85 percent from a year earlier, and EPS of NT$10.32.

In 2021, TWSE-listed companies generated NT$37.32 trillion in combined revenue, up 15.66 percent from a year earlier, the TWSE said.

Meanwhile, the 793 companies listed on the over-the-counter (OTC) market totaled NT$322.4 billion in aggregate pretax income in 2021, up 41 percent from a year earlier, according to the Taipei Exchange (TPEx), which runs the OTC market.

Of the 739 companies, 68 percent of them reported higher pretax income, and the aggregate double digit profit growth largely reflected big gains in the semiconductor, electronics component, and steel sectors, the TPEx said.

The OTC-listed companies had revenues of NT$2.65 trillion in sales in 2021, up 17 percent from a year earlier, the TPEx said.