FINWIRES · TerminalLIVE
FINWIRES

Taiwan Mask Mulls Private Placement of Up to 20 Million Shares; Shares Rally 10%

By

-- Taiwan Mask (TPE:2338) board approved a plan to privately place up to 20 million shares in one to three tranches within a year, according to a filing with the Taiwan Exchange on Wednesday.

Shares of the photomask manufacturer jumped about 10% in Thursday's midday trade.

Proceeds from the offering are earmarked for working capital, factory expansion, machinery and equipment procurement, debt repayment, and other long-term development needs.

Potential subscribers may include insider and related parties such as Luminous Rise Investment, TrueLight Corp., Star Fusion Group, and ALi Corp. (TPE:3041), although no final placees have been selected, it said.

Related Articles

Research

Research Alert: CFRA Keeps Hold Opinion On Adss Of Novo Nordisk

CFRA, an independent research provider, has providedwith the following research alert. Analysts at CFRA have summarized their opinion as follows:We adjust our target price to USD50 from USD47, implying 15.1x our 2026 EPADS, below its historical forward P/E average of 24x-28x, to reflect concerns over its long-term competitive edge. We adjust our EPADS forecasts to DKK21.05 from DKK20.60 for 2026 and to DKK21.70 from DKK22.30 for 2027, to account for the updated guidance while also considering the continued pricing pressure. Novo Nordisk raised its 2026 outlook, with adjusted sales and operating profit now expected to decline 4%-12% CER (vs. prior -5% to -13%), reflecting stronger GLP-1 expectations, particularly for the Wegovy pill. In Q1 2026, adjusted sales (excluding the rebate provisions reversal) fell 10% (-4% CER) on lower realized prices, particularly in the U.S., partially offset by volume growth. The Wegovy pill's strong launch trajectory is encouraging, with international rollout expected in 2H 2026. However, persistent U.S. pricing pressure, mixed clinical data (CagriSema setbacks), and intensifying competition warrant close monitoring.

$NVO
US Markets

Kakao's Q1 Profit Rises as Mobility, Payments Drive Platform Growth

Kakao (KRX:035720) posted a higher first-quarter net profit as strong growth in its platform and advertising businesses helped offset uneven performance in its content segment.Net profit rose 13% to 226.8 billion won from 200.3 billion won a year earlier.The South Korean internet company posted first-quarter net income attributable to shareholders of 171.7 billion won, little changed from 171.9 billion won a year earlier, according to a Thursday filing with the Korea Exchange.Revenue rose 11% to 1.94 trillion won from 1.75 trillion won, though the figure came in below the Visible Alpha estimate of 2.02 trillion won.Kakao's core platform division, which includes its mobility and Kakao Pay businesses, posted sales of 1.18 trillion won in the quarter, up 16% from a year earlier, supported by stronger advertising demand and growth in mobility and payment services.During an earnings call, Kakao's Chief Executive, Chung Shin-a, said the company plans to expand its agentic commerce business in the second half of the year, including AI-powered shopping services integrated into KakaoTalk."We are preparing with major vertical players, a proactive, end-to-end agent service that connects from search to payment," Chung said, according to Yonhap News Agency.She added that users are expected to experience an early version of Kakao's AI commerce service before the company's next earnings announcement.The company said domestic KakaoTalk monthly active users remained stable at about 49.6 million in the first quarter.Content revenue rose 4.7% to 759.4 billion won, supported by growth in its music and media businesses.Within content, stronger album sales and expanded global concerts lifted music revenue, while media revenue benefited from a higher number of titles contributing to revenue.Story revenue, however, remained under pressure amid weaker demand in Japan's manga market and softer gross merchandise value across platform and IP distribution businesses.

$KRX:035720
Asia

Chieftek Precision Logs NT$38 Million Profit in Q1

Chieftek Precision (TPE:1597) posted a profit attributable to owners of NT$37.9 million, or NT$0.43 per share, in the first quarter of the year, according to a Wednesday Taiwan bourse filing.Shares gained over 1% in Thursday's midday trade.Operating revenue stood at NT$334.4 million, the high-precision linear motion component manufacturer said.The company did not provide comparative year-ago figures.

$TPE:1597