Sampo Chief Says 1st-Qtr Profit Will Rise 30% on Cost Cuts
By Alan Patterson
quote.bloomberg.com
Hong Kong, Feb. 21 (Bloomberg) -- Sampo Corp., Taiwan's largest maker of consumer electronics, said first-quarter profit will rise 30 percent from a year ago after the company cut costs, chief executive officer H.C. Ho said in an interview.
``We cut overheads, which will save about NT$20 million a month,'' said Ho, who became CEO in November. ``In December, we cut interest rates with our banks to less than 4 percent from 6.5 percent, which will save about NT$90 million a year.'' The company also said cut management salaries by 20 percent, Ho said.
A 30 percent increase would give the company net earnings of NT$819 million ($23 million) for the company. Sales will increase as much as a quarter for the period, Ho said.
Sampo yesterday signed an agreement with Haier Group Co., China's largest home appliance maker, to sell each other's products. Both companies say they expect to cut costs further by sharing product development expenses.
Sampo, in which Sharp Corp. owns a 7 percent stake, will help Japan's largest maker of flat-panel displays sell more products in China. |
