By Chen Cheng-hui / Staff reporterDue to robust market demand in Taiwan and the gradual stabilization of its Vietnamese unit, Tung Ho Steel Enterprise Corp (東和鋼鐵) is expected to have a better growth outlook next year than its local peers, Capital Investment Management Corp (群益投顧) said in a note on Monday. Tung Ho is an integrated electric furnace steel manufacturer with a product mix of rebar, H-beams, billets, steel structures and plates. A steady increase in the permitted gross floor area for building is buoying demand for construction steel and especially benefits Tung Ho, the nation’s largest construction steelmaker, Capital Investment said. The total permitted floor area is forecast to exceed 35 million square meters this year — the third-highest since 2011, Capital Investment said. As a result, the firm’s consolidated revenue is forecast to increase 6.21 percent to NT$47.3 billion next year and net profit could grow 21.67 percent to NT$1.73 billion, with earnings per share of NT$1.72, Capital Investment said.
