Metal casing maker Casetek Holdings Ltd (鎧勝) yesterday reported that net profit surged 814.7 percent year-on-year in the first quarter owing to strong demand for Apple tablets, adding that growth momentum should be sustainable as the mobile device market enters a new product cycle.
The company’s net profit during the January-to-March period expanded to NT$1.75 billion (US$58.67 million) from NT$191 million a year ago, with earnings per share of NT$5.24.
The Cayman Islands-based company said better corporate management and improved yields allowed its gross margin to rise to 33 percent from 27.7 percent the previous quarter, even though sales fell 17.2 percent sequentially to NT$9.79 billion.
CAUTIOUS OPTIMISM
Casetek chairman Tung Tsu-hsien (童子賢) said he remained cautiously optimistic about the firm’s profitability through the next quarter, after its largest client, Apple Inc, on Tuesday gave a lower-than-expected sales guidance for the current quarter and hinted that the next significant product update would not come until the fall.
“The mobile device market is still booming” and has not yet entered a mature stage, Tung told an investors’ conference. “The market is much more competitive now, with more players joining, but we believe it could hit another peak after the start of a new product cycle.”
Casetek also makes casings for notebooks and smartphones, and is looking to start manufacturing home appliance casings this year, chief executive officer Gary Chuang (莊育志) said.
Casetek shares closed up 1.11 percent at NT$136.50 yesterday, outperforming the broader market, which advanced 1.02 percent.
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