Elevator supplier Golden Friends Corp (崇友實業) yesterday posted NT$330.48 million (US$11.62 million) in revenue for last month, a 38.7 percent rise from a month earlier, amid continued recovery in the local property market, although the figure fell 15.15 percent from a year earlier.
Revenue in the first quarter totaled NT$1.03 billion, a 3.66 percent increase from a year earlier, Golden Friends data showed.
Replacement of old elevators rose 16.35 percent, accounting for 24.69 percent of overall installments, or 500 elevators, in the January-to-March period, the Taipei-based company said in a statement.
Photo: Lin Jing-hua, Taipei Times
Its maintenance and repair business serviced 37,100 elevators and escalators in the quarter, an increase of 4 percent from a year earlier as government agencies and companies become more aware that elevators play an important part in building safety, it said.
Golden Friends is upbeat about its business going forward, even though developers might turn cautious following a spate of unfavorable policies to cool the property market, as real demand for housing and office space remains, the company said.
Firms shifting manufacturing facilities home from China would also lend support to its business, it said.
Contracts on hand so far this year have spiked 18.05 percent from the same time a year earlier, laying a healthy foundation for business in the short to medium term, Golden Friends said.
It intends to boost its market share by spending more to improve the ease and convenience of elevator rides, helped by the latest technologies, it said.
Last month, Golden Friends proposed a cash dividend of NT$3 per share based on its net income of NT$726 million last year, or earnings per share of NT$4.1.
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