CMC Magnectics chairman Bob Wong, in an interview with the newspaper, said the company's monthly DVD-R output would reach 30 million pieces by the end of this year, up from about 24 million now, which ranks it number one in Taiwan.

CMC Magnetics aims to become the world's largest DVD-R producer with 40 percent of a world market in 2004 estimated at 1.8 billion pieces, Wong said.

The company currently accounts for over 30 percent of global DVD-R production.

Wong predicted the company's sales would top 20 billion Taiwan dollarsmillion US dollars) this year, with pretax profits reaching six billion dollars, rising to above 10 billion dollars next year.

In the nine months to September, CMC Magnetics reported pretax profit of 4.17 billion dollars against a loss of 55.94 million a year earlier, with sales rising to 18.71 billion dollars from 14.15 billion.

The major challenge for Taiwan's electronics firms next year would be the pressure on the local currency to appreciate, Wong said.

CMC Magnetics' gross profit margin would be cut by 1.7 percent should the Taiwan dollar rise to 32 against the US dollar from the current 34, he added.

In addition to DVD-R, the company also manufacturers CD-R (compact disc recordable), DVD video and other related products.

SPACE.WIRE