Taipei’s Golden Friends Corp. “Upbeat” About 2023 Business

Taipei-based elevator maker Golden Friends Corp. (GFC) plans to increase product prices by 2 to 3% next month to reflect mounting raw material and maintenance costs unfazed by softening property transactions, Taipei Times reports. The Taipei-based company, which supplies elevators under the GFC and Genesis brands and distributes Japan’s Toshiba elevators, said the price hikes would add to a cumulative 10% increase after two previous adjustments last year for similar reasons. GFC said it is upbeat about its business for the rest of this year with NT$7.8 billion (US$252.26 million) of backlog on hand. The company’s consolidated revenue in the first five months of this year rose by 11.94% year-on-year. Revenue in 2022 increased 2.92%, while net profit increased 8.99%, reaching a company record. The company said new office buildings and urban renewal projects across Taiwan, in addition to the government’s public works projects, would imply demand for new elevators and regular maintenance services. The company expects new elevator sales to be flat due to less property transactions. Maintenance could grow 3% this year, as GFC has secured service contracts for 41,000 elevators, and the number might rise by another 1,600 to 2,000 by the end of the year. The replacement side is ramping up with 310 elevators sold so far this year, compared with 496 in 2022.