Elan Microelectronics Corp (義隆電子), a supplier of touchpad controllers and fingerprint sensors, yesterday reported that net profit last year rose 30 percent to a record NT$3.25 billion (US$114.52 million), thanks to increased demand for laptops amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Hsinchu-based company said that the work-from-home and distance-learning trends increased demand for notebook computers, which boosted shipments of its touchpad controllers.
Earnings per share last year reached NT$11.14, up from NT$8.57 in 2019, it said in a filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange.
Photo: Bill Chen, Taipei Times
Gross margin improved to 46.69 percent from 46.58 percent in 2019, while revenue soared 59.15 percent to NT$15.1 billion from NT$9.49 billion in 2019.
The company’s board of directors yesterday approved a record cash dividend of NT$9 per common share, representing a payout ratio of 80.79 percent.
Last year, the company distributed a cash dividend of NT$8.57.
Elan Microelectronics is to release more financial details and this year’s business outlook at an investors’ conference on Tuesday next week.
The company told investors in October last year that it had a positive outlook for the first two quarters of this year, as customers had indicated continuing demand for touchpad controllers for laptops.
At the time, the company also warned that wafer supply might lag behind demand and that it had been forced to push back shipments of touchpad controllers to early this year due to supply constraints.
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