Kenmos to Open Auto Parts Plant

Kenmos Technology Co., Ltd. of Taiwan, a subsidiary of Taiwan-based auto-lamp maker Ta Yih Industrial Co., recently announced that it would invest US$980,000 to establish an auto interior lamp joint venture in Kunshan, Jiangsu Province in China. The venture, in which Kenmos holds a 49% share, has already secured original equipment (OE) orders from some European automakers.

Kenmos said that the auto parts venture is part of a business shift as it gradually withdraws from the backlight unit (BLU) business. To fund the venture, the company increased its capitalization by 39.7% in 2014 by 39.7%, bringing the firm's paid-in capitalization to NT$1.12 billion (US$37.3 million). As of December 2014, the firm's auto-parts production accounted for 60% to 70% of revenue. The company plans to stop BLU production in 2015.

Kenmos now owns a 43.75% in Tayih Lun An Co., Ltd., a maker of auto exterior accessories in Taiwan, and a 82% stake in Taiwan's KMO Filter Industrial Co., Ltd., a maker of automotive filter materials and products. Kenmos also holds a 20% stake in Macauto Industrial Co., Ltd., an OE sun-curtain supplier to many international automakers.

In conjunction with the gradual termination of its money-losing BLU business and increasing revenue from auto-parts related businesses, Kenmos' financial performance has been improving. In the first three quarters, the firm's accumulated revenue was NT$2.14 billion (US$71.4 million), down 108% year-on-year (YoY), translating into operation loss of NT$72 million (US$2.4 million). Thanks to the strong performance of its reinvestments in auto-parts related companies, which contributed out-business rewards of NT$280 million (US$9.3 million), the firm registered a net profit of NT$116 million (US$3.86 million).

In November 2014, Kenmos registered monthly revenue of NT$122 million (US$4.1 million), up 11.9% month-on-month (MoM), but down 76.9% YoY.