Top two Taiwanese solar cell makers plan bold expansions

This article was published by the Taiwan Headlines on May 26, 2006. It reports that Taiwan's top two solar cell makers, Motech Industries Inc. and E-Tone Soar Tech Co., Ltd., currently have plans to make bold expansions. Both companies plan to double their outputs in 2006 in order to keep up with high demand. Indeed, consumption of the solar cells has soared sharply worldwide as oil prices hit record highs.

Specifically, Motech's output at its first factory is expected to be 120 megawatts of cells in 2006, while that at its second factory is projected to rise to over 200 megawatts of cells by the end of 2006.

Meanwhile, E-Tone claims that it will boost output to 75 megawatts of cells by the end of 2006. The company's two production lines are currently running at full capacity. Its third line will begin pilot production in mid-2006 and is expected to have maximum capacity of 25 megawatts a year.

The two companies are expected to spend most of their new investment capital on polysilicon wafers, which are the primary materials for making solar cells. At present, there is a supply shortage of the polysilicon wafers worldwide.

In April 2006, Motech's pre-tax earnings reached NT$165 million (US$5.1 million), and its gross margin profit exceeded 30 percent. The company's total revenue for the first four months of 2006 reached NT$1.3 billion (US$41.3 million), a 19.15 percent increase from the same period in 2005.

In contrast, in April 2006, E-Tone's after-tax income reached NT$55.16 million (US$1.7 million). The company's total revenue for the first four months of 2006 reached NT$760 million (US$23.7 million), an increase of 283 percent from the same period in 2005.