Many Taiwanese machine-tool makers scored fatter earnings in the second quarter than the first quarter this year partly thanks to the depreciation of the New Taiwan Dollar against the U.S. dollar.

In the second quarter, Goodway Machine Corp., thanks to a weaker NT dollar against the U.S. dollar, booked an unexpected foreign exchange gain of NT$15 million (US$500,000 at US$1:NT$30), reducing its loss from foreign exchange for the first half of this year to NT$8-9 million (US$266,666-300,000).

Throughout the first half of this year, the company had consolidated operating income of NT$503 million (US$16.7 million at US$1:NT$30), pre-tax income of NT$477 million (US$15.9 million), and after-tax net income of NT$344 million (US$11.4 million), or NT$2.68 per share. The incomes include an approximate NT$90 million (US$3 million) return from investments, including the NT$50 million (US$1.6 million) from its 37% ownership in AWEA Mechantronic Co., Ltd., the NT$14 million (US$466,666) from its 70% ownership in an American company, and the NT$23 million (US$766,666) from investments in mainland Chinese manufacturers.

Its consolidated revenue for the first half was NT$3.6 billion (US$120.6 million).

AWEA posted consolidated revenue of NT$1.74 billion (US$58 million) for the first half of this year. Meanwhile its operating income was NT$168 million (US$5.6 million), pretax earnings were NT$172 million (US$5.7 million) and after-tax net income was NT$144 million (US$4.8 million), or NT$1.57 per diluted share.

AWEA executives also ascribed the firm’s better earnings in the second quarter than in the first quarter mostly to the devaluation of the local currency, which offset part of the company’s loss from foreign exchange in the first quarter.

Kao Fong Machinery Co., Ltd. is said to have seen its foreign exchange loss shrink to around NT$1 million (US$33,333) in the first half thanks to the devaluation of the NT dollar. In the meantime, the company’s pre-tax earnings were NT$25 million (US$833,333) and after-tax net income was NT$20 million (US$666,666), or NT$0.23 per share. In the second quarter, the company’s net income per share was NT$0.21, improving from the first-quarter’s NT$0.02 per share.

Falcon Machine Tool Co., Ltd. preliminarily reckoned its pre-tax earnings was NT$0.60 per share or so, but auditors the company’s unrealized losses over the past few years will scale the earnings down to NT$0.4-0.5 per share.