Formosa Plastics shares return to prior ex-dividend level

Taipei, July 15 (CNA) Shares of Formosa Plastics Corp., the flagship entity of petrochemical conglomerate Formosa Plastics Group, returned to their prior ex-dividend level soon after the market opened Tuesday, the stock's ex-dividend date.

At 12:49 p.m., Formosa Plastics had risen 2.41 percent to NT$36.05 (US$1.23) on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE), where the benchmark weighted index, the Taiex, was up 0.66 percent at 22,764.54.

The stock opened up NT$0.55 to make up the NT$0.5 -- the amount of the cash dividend per share -- deducted from its closing level Monday, and momentum continued to hit the day's high of NT$37.20 in the morning session.

For companies in Taiwan that issue cash dividends annually, the ex-dividend date is the date on which a stock begins trading after the cash dividend to be paid out on the previous year's earnings has been deducted from the stock price.

Dealers said buying in Formosa Plastics shares showed investors seemed happy to see the company decide to issue a cash dividend of NT$0.5 per share for 2024, even if the company ran a loss for the year.

In addition, investors tend to seek bargains like Formosa Plastics, which has been hit hard in recent sessions on weakness in the global petrochemical market, dealers said.

Formosa Plastics incurred a net loss of NT$1.23 billion in 2024, compared with NT$7.34 billion in net profit a year earlier, with a loss per share at NT$0.19, due to a global supply glut and falling product prices.

It was the first net loss for the company in almost 20 years.

Despite the loss, Formosa Plastics still decided to pay a cash dividend of NT$0.5 to shareholders as an incentive for them to hold onto the stock.

Dealers said Formosa Plastics has continued to struggle in 2025 at a time of American tariff threats and a stronger Taiwan dollar, which has hurt the competitive edge of many Taiwanese exporters.

In the first half of this year, Formosa Plastics incurred a net loss of NT$6.58 billion, compared with a net profit of NT$1.59 billion a year earlier, with loss per share at NT$1.03.

Formosa Plastics has forecast its revenue for the third quarter to fall slightly from a quarter earlier, though it will receive about NT$810 million in cash dividends from its securities investments to strengthen its bottom line.