Chung Hwa Pulp (1905) today (28th) held a conference meeting to announce its 2017 financial report. This year, benefited both from rising prices and steady demand in the pulp and paper market, consolidated revenue for the year hit a record high. Consolidated revenue for 2017 was NT$22.708 billion, a 3.2% increase year-on-year. Gross profit margin rate of 2017 was 10.2%, and net profit margin rate of the year was 3.5%, both 1.7 percentage points higher than the prior year’s like-for-like figures. Annual net income after tax of 2017 rose to NT$619 million, meaning an annual growth of 60%, and making earnings per share stand at NT$0.56. The Board of Directors recently agreed a dividend of NT$0.5 per share, meaning a payout percentage of nearly 90%.
In the meeting, Chung Hwa Pulp also posted 2017’s fourth-quarter revenue, of NT$6.16 billion, the highest quarterly amount in history. Boosted by the strong market demand in the fourth quarter, quarterly revenue was increased by 8.4%, and annual revenue, by 6.0%. CHP's expanded operational scale took effect in CHP’s cost reduction. With resource shortage being a growing concern internationally, countries all over the world are tightening their environmental policies, resulting in some noticeable synthetic effect arising from the vertical integration of wood, pulp, and paper manufacturing. CHP posted its fourth-quarter gross margin rate of 11.1%, 3.4 percentage points higher than the prior-year figure, and the net profit margin rate of 4.4%, 3.5 percentage points higher than the prior-year. Net income after tax was NT$150 million in the fourth quarter, and earnings per share was NT$0.13.
To make the company acclimatized to the current economic changes, Chung Hwa Pulp has enhanced its corporate profitability by making adjustments in product structure, improving product quality, and focusing business on products with high gross margin and high-tech paper products. Looking into 2018, Chung Hwa Pulp will continue to take actions to minimize its pulp cost, keep ahead of market changes, and make strategies to enlarge its product portfolio. Chung Hwa Pulp will also engage effort in the research and develop of the fiber technology in order to make innovative applications from the pulp and paper products which will hopefully motivate the company’s operational strength and profitability.
News contact:
Deputy General Manager Ray Chen Tel:02-2396-2998 Ext 3877
Finance Manager Guanjun Lin Tel: 02-2396-2998 Ext 3749
