Formosa Plastics Group's Four Major Subsidiaries Report Q1 Net Profit of NT$44.1 Billion, Up 10.8 Times Year-on-Year

Formosa Petrochemical announced its Q1 self-reported net profit after tax of NT$20.408 billion today, leading the four major subsidiaries in profit, with a 4.5-fold increase year-on-year and approximately a 3-fold increase quarter-on-quarter, with earnings per share of NT$2.14.

Formosa Petrochemical explained that the increase in Q1 profit was mainly due to its refining and upstream petrochemical businesses. Over 80% of its raw materials are imported from the Middle East, and procurement and transportation take about one month. When international oil prices rise sharply, it simultaneously drives up the prices of oil products and petrochemical raw materials. According to accounting standards, the cost of raw material consumption is calculated using the weighted average method, rather than reflecting the actual raw material prices of the current period, thus generating inventory gains from in-transit raw materials and products.

Formosa Petrochemical warned that if geopolitical tensions ease in the future, oil prices could face sharp corrections at any time, and Formosa Petrochemical would then bear the risk of equivalent price depreciation losses.

Nanya Plastics' Q1 self-reported net profit after tax was NT$14.253 billion, closely following Formosa Petrochemical, with a nearly 30-fold increase year-on-year and approximately a 1.9-fold increase from Q4 last year, with earnings per share of NT$1.8, reaching a 15-quarter high. Nanya Plastics' Q1 profit this year also exceeded the total profit of the previous three years.

Nanya Plastics explained that the accelerated profit growth in Q1 mainly came from the contribution of three major electronic fields, including Nanya's own electronic materials business, its subsidiary Nanya PCB, and its invested company Nanya Technology. Driven by the rapid advancement of the AI wave, demand for high-speed network communications, storage facilities, edge computing, and power control has continuously surged and upgraded, leading to a shortage of related materials and a significant increase in performance.

Formosa Chemicals & Fibre's Q1 self-reported net profit after tax was NT$6.247 billion, turning losses into profits compared to the same period last year and the previous quarter, with earnings per share of NT$1.07.

Formosa Chemicals & Fibre stated that both sales volume and price difference increased in Q1 this year compared to Q4 last year. In terms of sales volume, as PX (paraxylene) market prices rose and processing margins improved, Formosa Chemicals & Fibre increased its operating rate. In terms of sales price, due to the US-Iran military conflict in March, which pushed up crude oil supply shortages and prices, the prices of petrochemical plastic products also followed suit.

Formosa Plastics Corp.'s Q1 net profit after tax was NT$3.269 billion, a 64-fold increase year-on-year, and also turned losses into profits compared to Q4 last year, with earnings per share of NT$0.51 for the single quarter.

Formosa Plastics Corp. explained that its core business was still in a loss-making state in Q1, with a loss of approximately NT$1.3 billion. The profit momentum mainly came from an increase in investment income, of which NT$5.69 billion was recognized from its equity method investment in Formosa Petrochemical in Q1, a significant increase of NT$4.24 billion compared to Q4 last year. (Editor: Chang Chun-mao)1150410