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進入《TAIPEI TIMES》 Golf gear makers’ revenue gains amid pandemic trend
Taiwanese professional golfer C.T. Pan tees off at the Masters tournament in Augusta, Georgia, on Friday. Photo: AFP
By Chen Cheng-hui / Staff reporter
Taiwanese contract manufacturers of golf equipment reported revenue increases for last month and the first quarter, as the number of golfers continues to increase worldwide amid the COVID-19 pandemic, driving orders.
The total rounds of golf played in the US, the world’s largest market for the sport, climbed 13.9 percent last year amid the increasing popularity of sports that allow social distancing, market research specialist Golf Datatech said in January.
The trend also boosted golf equipment sales 10.1 percent last year from 2019, Golf Datatech said, adding that new product lineup by major golf brands provided strong momentum to the supply chain companies.
Revenue at Fu Sheng Precision Co Ltd （復盛應用）, a leading producer of golf club heads, last month grew 51.24 percent year-on-year and 26.95 percent month-on-month to NT$1.96 billion （US$68.9 million）, the company said in a statement on Thursday.
First-quarter revenue was NT$5.83 billion, up 61.08 percent year-on-year and 17.58 percent quarter-on-quarter, it said.
Capital Investment Management Corp （群益投顧） said in a note on Friday that Fu Sheng’s results were in line with its expectations and attributed the growth to a gradual buildup of orders from golf brand clients.
To diversify production locations and raise flexibility, Fu Sheng is building a new factory in Vietnam, Capital said, adding that the share of its shipments from the country might rise to above 50 percent.
“Fu Sheng’s Vietnamese factories are nearing capacity. Due to US-China trade tensions, some US clients hope that their orders will not be produced in China, driving up demand for increased production capacity in Vietnam,” Capital said.
Data provided by consulting firm National Golf Foundation suggest that at least 3 million beginners took up golfing in the US last year, up from 2.5 million beginners in 2019.
The rise in players would bolster demand in the near term, analysts said.
O-Ta Precision Industry Co Ltd （大田精密）, a producer of golf club heads and putters, reported that last month’s revenue surged 94.8 percent year-on-year and 106 percent month-on-month to NT$597.36 million.
The figure was the highest monthly revenue in 10 years and helped first-quarter revenue rise 91.01 percent year-on-year to NT$1.42 billion, the best in nearly two decades, Taishin Securities Investment Advisory Co （台新投顧） said in a note on Friday.
“O-Ta’s order visibility has extended into the end of the third quarter, and we estimate that its revenue will grow substantially in 2021, along with room for product portfolio optimization,” Taishin said.
Golf club producer Advanced International Multitech Co Ltd （明安國際） last month reported a revenue increase of 56.37 percent year-on-year to NT$1.35 billion.
Dynamic Precision Industry Corp’s （鉅明股份） revenue rose 9.27 percent from a year earlier to NT$279.8 million, the golf club head maker’s regulatory filing showed.
Golf ball manufacturer Launch Technologies Co Ltd （明揚國際） reported that revenue last month 19.14 percent year-on-year to NT$190.72 million.
First-quarter revenue expanded 30.18 percent to NT$531.51 million, it said.
Launch Technologies, which supplies to Callaway Golf, TaylorMade Golf and Mizuno, in September last year gained approval by the Ministry of Economic Affairs to invest NT$400 million in expanding factories in Pingtung County.
新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES
