Giant Foreshadows Delayed Economic Recovery
Taichung City, Taiwan
Inventory issues and the “headwind of economic outlook” will continue to affect short-term revenue and earning performance in the global bicycle industry, Giant Group declared in its 2022 financial year report released this month.
The Taiwanese company says the bike market’s balance of the supply and demand is yet to normalise, although Giant has implemented corrective measures since the start of the calendar year.
“The demand for low to mid-end products has cooled down, but the demands for high-end and E-bikes remain strong,” the statement says.
“However, due to the disruption caused to the supply chain, inventory on low to mid-end components are high in both distribution channels and also in the manufacturing side.
“High-end components continue to face a supply shortage and are unable to meet market demand.
“Giant Group has initiated a corrective mechanism since the second half of 2022, but as this action was taken during the traditional off-season, inventory reduction is still slow, and it is expected the reduction would take some time to see the result.”
However, the company says in the mid to long term, e-bike demand remains solid and cycling’s sustained popularity will continue to support demand for high-end bicycles.
“Especially with ESG (environmental, social and governance) trends, the bicycle industry still has room for growth. Moving forward, Giant Group will continue to focus on products and services values, continuation in pursuing brand value enhancement so to bring stable growth for the group,” it says.
The financial report says Giant’s consolidated revenue for the 2022 financial year rose 12.5% to 92 billion New Taiwan dollars (A$4.49 billion). It’s nett income after tax dropped 1.5% to NT$5.84 billion (A$280 million).
Giant Breaks into Sustainability Top 100
Last month, Giant Group was ranked 51st in a list of the world’s most sustainable billion-dollar companies, released by Canadian media and research organisation Corporate Knights.
It was the first time Giant has made it onto the list, which ranks the top 100 most sustainable companies with turnovers that have exceeded US$1 billion for 19 consecutive years.
Its assessment of sustainability in 2023 has 25 key performance indicators, including resource management, employee management, financial management, sustainable revenue, sustainable investment and sustainable supply chain.
The selected companies must also have sustainable solutions at the core of their business and allocate meaningful investments to reduce their carbon footprint.
Corporate Knights published the list of 2023 Global 100 through the annual World Economic Forum in Switzerland.