Taiwan's four Formosa Plastics companies posted a big jump in August sales, good news for their investors and a sign that both the AI boom and higher oil prices are feeding through to old-line industrial firms.

• Combined August revenue for the four firms rose 40% from a year earlier, to about NT$157 billion.
• Nan Ya Plastics led the gains, with electronics materials sales up more than 80% as an AI-driven shortage spread from high-end products down to basic ones — its best month in over four years.
• Formosa Petrochemical's revenue rose 50% as the US-Iran conflict pushed crude oil higher and widened its refining margins.
• Formosa Chemicals also gained on Middle East tensions, US sanctions, and a standoff over the Strait of Hormuz that is keeping oil shipments tight.
• Formosa Plastics itself was the laggard, with sales down from July because of planned plant maintenance at Mailiao.

Outlook: As long as the AI materials shortage and Middle East supply worries last, these companies should keep posting strong sales, though a drop in oil prices would quickly cut into the refining side.