Wistron Earnings Call: H1 EPS of NT$7.78; Announces US$17.48 Billion Investment in Taiwan, USA, and Vietnam

Wistron (3231-TW) held its earnings conference call today (4th) and released its financial report for the first half of the year. First-half revenue reached NT$1.74 trillion, a year-on-year increase of 94%, with net profit after tax amounting to NT$24.458 billion and earnings per share (EPS) at NT$7.78—both setting new records.

Additionally, Wistron’s board of directors approved multiple resolutions to expand investments in Taiwan, the United States, and Vietnam, with a total investment amounting to NT$17.481 billion.

Second-quarter revenue was NT$895.443 billion, up 5.81% quarter-on-quarter and 62.43% year-on-year. Gross margin stood at 5.56%, improving by 0.45 percentage points from the previous quarter and 1.22 percentage points year-on-year. Operating margin was 3.74%, up 0.29 percentage points sequentially and 1.78 percentage points annually. Net profit after tax reached NT$14.827 billion, increasing 53.95% quarter-on-quarter and 128% year-on-year, with EPS at NT$4.72.

Cumulative first-half revenue totaled NT$1.74 trillion, up 94.01% year-on-year. Gross margin was 5.44%, down 0.3 percentage points from the same period last year, while operating margin improved to 3.59%, up 0.7 percentage points year-on-year. Net profit after tax was NT$24.458 billion, up 1.07 times year-on-year, with EPS at NT$7.78.

Regarding investments in Taiwan, the company plans to increase capital expenditures at its Hsinchu and Kaohsiung sites by NT$2 billion and NT$8.5 billion respectively, primarily to acquire machinery and equipment to support future capacity expansion.

Furthermore, to meet the growing demand driven by AI development, Wistron will invest NT$3.967 billion to establish an AI computing center within the Wistron Building at National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University’s (NYCU) Tainan campus. This center will support internal AI computing needs across the Wistron Group and provide computational resources via donations to support academic research and education programs.

In the United States, the board approved additional capital expenditures of USD 23 million (approximately NT$745 million) and USD 30 million (approximately NT$972 million) for its 100%-owned subsidiaries, Wistron InfoComm (USA) Corporation and SMS Infocomm Corporation, respectively, to support future AI-related business development.

For Vietnam, Wistron plans to increase capital in its 100%-owned subsidiary, Wistron Property (Vietnam) Co., Ltd., by USD 40 million (approximately NT$1.296 billion).

Additionally, based on authorization from this year’s shareholders’ meeting, the company intends to file necessary applications with regulatory authorities to issue up to 250 million ordinary shares in the form of Global Depositary Receipts (GDRs).

Overall, Chairman Lin Hsing-Ming stated that Wistron will continue making strategic investments in capacity expansion and competitiveness enhancement over the next few years. He expects capital expenditures to continue rising over the next one to two years and emphasized that issuing GDRs is a necessary step amid the company’s rapid growth trajectory.