Largan Precision Co (大立光), which supplies camera lenses to Apple Inc, yesterday posted record-high net profit of NT$28.26 billion (US$941.75 million) for last year, thanks to robust customer demand and a higher gross margin.
The company’s net profit increased 16 percent year-on-year from NT$24.37 billion in 2018. Earnings per share last year climbed to NT$210.69 from NT$181.67 in 2018.
Cumulative revenue reached NT$60.75 billion, up 22 percent from NT$49.95 billion in 2018, while gross margin inched up to 69.04 percent from 68.76 percent in 2018.
Net profit in the fourth quarter of last year grew 24.91 percent year-on-year to NT$8.09 billion, or earnings per share of NT$60.32, while fourth-quarter gross margin rose to 71.13 percent from 69.12 percent in the third quarter, thanks to an improved product mix, the company said.
Sales last quarter increased 47.69 percent year-on-year to NT$18.36 billion, but declined 0.68 percent on a quarterly basis, a company financial statement showed.
Revenue this month is expected to fall somewhat from last month due to the Lunar New Year holiday, but revenue next month should trend upward, Largan CEO Adam Lin (林恩平) told investors in an earnings conference.
“The proportion of high-end products shipped increased last quarter,” Lin said, attributing last year’s strong growth to higher shipments of eight-piece plastic lenses, which allow larger apertures and higher resolutions.
Orders of high-end lenses are expected to remain high this year, Lin said, adding that the company has started to design nine-piece lenses to accommodate customer demand.
Largan is still developing glass-and-plastic periscope lenses, a solution to overheating in plastic lenses.
The company still outsources the production of glass components, but is mulling manufacturing the components in-house, Lin said.
Production capacity at the company’s existing plants could still be increased, Lin said, addressing investors’ concerns.
“Our new plant will be ready by 2023, as construction is to begin this year,” Lin added.
The company has searched far and wide, but been unable to find a plot of land that is suitable for production expansion, Lin said when pressed by investors about capacity, adding that the company might rent a facility.
Investors raised concerns over an apparent shortage of raw materials this quarter, but Lin reassured them, although he admitted that suppliers could use more time to expand production.
STILL HOPEFUL: Delayed payment of NT$5.35 billion from an Indian server client sent its earnings plunging last year, but the firm expects a gradual pickup ahead Asustek Computer Inc (華碩), the world’s No. 5 PC vendor, yesterday reported an 87 percent slump in net profit for last year, dragged by a massive overdue payment from an Indian cloud service provider. The Indian customer has delayed payment totaling NT$5.35 billion (US$162.7 million), Asustek chief financial officer Nick Wu (吳長榮) told an online earnings conference. Asustek shipped servers to India between April and June last year. The customer told Asustek that it is launching multiple fundraising projects and expected to repay the debt in the short term, Wu said. The Indian customer accounted for less than 10 percent to Asustek’s
‘DECENT RESULTS’: The company said it is confident thanks to an improving world economy and uptakes in new wireless and AI technologies, despite US uncertainty Pegatron Corp (和碩) yesterday said it plans to build a new server manufacturing factory in the US this year to address US President Donald Trump’s new tariff policy. That would be the second server production base for Pegatron in addition to the existing facilities in Taoyuan, the iPhone assembler said. Servers are one of the new businesses Pegatron has explored in recent years to develop a more balanced product lineup. “We aim to provide our services from a location in the vicinity of our customers,” Pegatron president and chief executive officer Gary Cheng (鄭光治) told an online earnings conference yesterday. “We
LEAK SOURCE? There would be concern over the possibility of tech leaks if TSMC were to form a joint venture to operate Intel’s factories, an analyst said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday stayed mum after a report said that the chipmaker has pitched chip designers Nvidia Corp, Advanced Micro Devices Inc and Broadcom Inc about taking a stake in a joint venture to operate Intel Corp’s factories. Industry sources told the Central News Agency (CNA) that the possibility of TSMC proposing to operate Intel’s wafer fabs is low, as the Taiwanese chipmaker has always focused on its core business. There is also concern over possible technology leaks if TSMC were to form a joint venture to operate Intel’s factories, Concord Securities Co (康和證券) analyst Kerry Huang (黃志祺)
It was late morning and steam was rising from water tanks atop the colorful, but opaque-windowed, “soapland” sex parlors in a historic Tokyo red-light district. Walking through the narrow streets, camera in hand, was Beniko — a former sex worker who is trying to capture the spirit of the area once known as Yoshiwara through photography. “People often talk about this neighborhood having a ‘bad history,’” said Beniko, who goes by her nickname. “But the truth is that through the years people have lived here, made a life here, sometimes struggled to survive. I want to share that reality.” In its mid-17th to
RSS