According to a report by Taiwan Economic News, Taiwan’s second largest bicycle manufacturer, Merida Industry has recently seen its share price rise by around 40% to NT$75 (US$2.50) – on the back of ‘smooth sales this year’.
The gains made by Merida reportedly translate into a record market value of NT$18.5 billion (US$616.7 million) for the company.
Merida has been making solid progress in China, having recently increased its investments on the Chinese mainland. From August 2010 to December 2010, Merida invested around NT$250 million (US$8 million) in expanding its production capacity. At its factories in Taiwan and China, Merida has procured new processing and production equipment and has made improvements to existing production lines.
Merida has been focusing on medium- to high-end bikes in recent years. The company sold 1.8 million bicycles globally in 2010 and unit volume shipments are expected to grow by 10% in 2011 to hit the 2 million unit mark. Underlining its focus on mainstream and premium pricing, in the first half of 2011, Merida’s unit sales in China reportedly increased 88% year on year, while the company’s revenue climbed by 105% in the same period.
