Food industry giant Standard Foods (1227.TW) recently announced its first-half 2026 financial results. Despite facing pressure from rising raw material costs that led to a decline in core operating profit, non-operating foreign exchange gains driven by Chinese Yuan appreciation and financial asset investment income boosted net profit attributable to parent company shareholders to NT$730 million (approximately $22.7 million), representing a year-over-year increase of more than 50%. Earnings per share (EPS) reached NT$0.80, significantly outperforming the NT$0.52 recorded in the same period last year.
According to the latest financial figures, Standard Foods’ first-half consolidated revenue reached NT$13.93 billion (approximately $432.5 million), up 6.7% compared to the same period last year and a record high for recent years, indicating sustained sales momentum across its core brands and major distribution channels. However, affected by rising international commodity prices and geopolitical factors, costs for key edible oil raw materials — including sunflower oil, corn oil, and rapeseed oil — as well as plastic packaging materials continued to climb, exerting significant pressure on the company’s gross margin. First-half consolidated gross margin declined from 26% in the same period last year to 23%, and operating profit consequently fell 15.3% year-over-year to NT$580 million (approximately $18.0 million), with operating margin compressed from 5% to 4%.
On the cost control front, Standard Foods demonstrated a degree of operational resilience. Through continuous improvements in operational efficiency and enhanced expense management, the company successfully reduced its first-half operating expense ratio from 21% in the same period last year to 19%, effectively improving expense efficiency and partially mitigating the impact of rising raw material costs on core operating profit.
The key driver behind the strong first-half profit figures was non-operating income. Benefiting from the appreciation of the Chinese Yuan against the New Taiwan Dollar, Standard Foods recognized substantial unrealized foreign currency valuation gains. Combined with increased financial asset investment income, this pushed first-half pre-tax net profit to NT$880 million (approximately $27.3 million), with net profit attributable to parent company shareholders reaching NT$730 million (approximately $22.7 million), a year-over-year increase of 55.3%, translating to EPS of NT$0.80.
Looking at second-quarter performance alone, Standard Foods’ consolidated revenue was NT$6.16 billion (approximately $191.2 million), a slight 0.2% decline year-over-year, primarily due to reduced revenue from Taiwan Standard Foods and DeTai. Under raw material cost pressure, second-quarter operating profit decreased by NT$210 million (approximately $6.5 million) compared to the same period last year. However, similarly aided by non-operating income that improved significantly by NT$329 million (approximately $10.2 million) year-over-year, single-quarter pre-tax net profit reached NT$260 million (approximately $8.1 million), a 136% year-over-year increase, with EPS of NT$0.28, markedly better than the NT$0.13 recorded in the same period last year.
Looking ahead to second-half operations, Standard Foods stated that the global raw material and market environment remains full of uncertainties. The company will continue to focus on four key areas: gross margin improvement, product mix optimization, price management, and cost control. The goal is to increase the revenue contribution from high-margin products while simultaneously enhancing operational efficiency and expense management to strengthen core business profitability.
The company emphasized that it will adhere to the principle of prudent management, strengthening product competitiveness and operational resilience while upholding its core commitment to food safety and product quality. Through rigorous quality management and supply chain oversight, Standard Foods will continue to provide consumers with safe, healthy, and high-quality products.
