E-commerce company PChome Online Inc (網路家庭) yesterday reported NT$121 million (US$3.93 million) in net losses for the first quarter of this year, after posting NT$8.18 million in net profit the previous quarter.
The company has posted five quarters of losses since the fourth quarter of 2021.
The company said its consolidated revenue in the January-to-March quarter fell 23.03 percent quarter-on-quarter to NT$10.16 billion, and was also down 13.3 percent from a year earlier.
Photo: CNA
By segment, the business-to-consumer e-commerce business saw sales drop 16.57 percent year-on-year to NT$9.14 billion, the online marketplace's sales fell 17.12 percent to NT$300 million, while the financial technology business posted sales of NT$388 million, up 21.25 percent, company data showed.
Overall, the company had losses per share of NT$0.96 in the first quarter, compared with earnings per share of NT$0.06 in the previous quarter and losses per share of NT$0.25 from a year earlier.
The figures reflect the effects of inflationary pressures, a weakening global economy and industry inventory adjustments that had hit demand for consumer electronics and adversely affected the company’s business-to-consumer e-commerce services last quarter, PChome said in a statement.
The company also blamed the quarterly losses on higher operating expenses related to rents and equipment spending at its A7 Smart Logistics Center in Taoyuan’s Gueishan District (龜山), the statement said.
The company's operating expense ratio, which is calculated by dividing all operating expenses by revenue, stood at 12.97 percent in the first quarter as operating expenses totaled NT$1.32 billion versus NT$10.16 billion in revenue. Last quarter's ratio rose from 12.22 percent a year earlier, according to the company's financial statement.
Nonetheless, the first-quarter results indicate that the company still faces challenges across all of its business units, including in e-commerce, online marketplaces, mobile payments and other Internet services, even though PChome had started corporate restructuring efforts in August last year in a bid to catch up with its peers and return to profitability.
PChome said it remains confident in its business outlook in the second half of the year, expecting the consumer electronics business to pick up following the launch of new models by major brands in the third quarter.
In addition, its cross-border e-commerce platform Bibian (比比昂) continued to report steady growth last quarter, while sales in its financial technology business increased by more than 20 percent from a year earlier, the company said.
“The overall domestic consumer market will gradually improve in the second half of the year ... and the company’s business in the second half of the year is expected to be better than the first half,” PChome said.
The company also pledges to continue corporate restructuring in upcoming quarters and strive to gain traction on revenue and profit, it said.
Semiconductor shares in China surged yesterday after Reuters reported the US had ordered chipmaking giant Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) to halt shipments of advanced chips to Chinese customers, which investors believe could accelerate Beijing’s self-reliance efforts. TSMC yesterday started to suspend shipments of certain sophisticated chips to some Chinese clients after receiving a letter from the US Department of Commerce imposing export restrictions on those products, Reuters reported on Sunday, citing an unnamed source. The US imposed export restrictions on TSMC’s 7-nanometer or more advanced designs, Reuters reported. Investors figured that would encourage authorities to support China’s industry and bought shares
TECH WAR CONTINUES: The suspension of TSMC AI chips and GPUs would be a heavy blow to China’s chip designers and would affect its competitive edge Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, is reportedly to halt supply of artificial intelligence (AI) chips and graphics processing units (GPUs) made on 7-nanometer or more advanced process technologies from next week in order to comply with US Department of Commerce rules. TSMC has sent e-mails to its Chinese AI customers, informing them about the suspension starting on Monday, Chinese online news outlet Ijiwei.com (愛集微) reported yesterday. The US Department of Commerce has not formally unveiled further semiconductor measures against China yet. “TSMC does not comment on market rumors. TSMC is a law-abiding company and we are
FLEXIBLE: Taiwan can develop its own ground station equipment, and has highly competitive manufacturers and suppliers with diversified production, the MOEA said The Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) yesterday disputed reports that suppliers to US-based Space Exploration Technologies Corp (SpaceX) had been asked to move production out of Taiwan. Reuters had reported on Tuesday last week that Elon Musk-owned SpaceX had asked their manufacturers to produce outside of Taiwan given geopolitical risks and that at least one Taiwanese supplier had been pushed to relocate production to Vietnam. SpaceX’s requests place a renewed focus on the contentious relationship Musk has had with Taiwan, especially after he said last year that Taiwan is an “integral part” of China, sparking sharp criticism from Taiwanese authorities. The ministry said
US President Joe Biden’s administration is racing to complete CHIPS and Science Act agreements with companies such as Intel Corp and Samsung Electronics Co, aiming to shore up one of its signature initiatives before US president-elect Donald Trump enters the White House. The US Department of Commerce has allocated more than 90 percent of the US$39 billion in grants under the act, a landmark law enacted in 2022 designed to rebuild the domestic chip industry. However, the agency has only announced one binding agreement so far. The next two months would prove critical for more than 20 companies still in the process
RSS