LCD panel maker Innolux Corp (群創) yesterday announced that net profit last quarter reached the highest in 15 quarters and that the strong momentum should carry into this quarter, sparking a sequential increase of 15 percent in the price of TV and laptop panels.
The Miaoli-based company said that global demand for panels this quarter continues to outpace supply — as the COVID-19 pandemic has triggered a massive use of contactless technology and displays for Internet-connected electronics — which would support a continuing upward trend in panel prices this quarter, Innolux said in a statement.
People are also upgrading their electronic devices for distance learning, which has deepened an already tight panel supply, the company said.
Photo: Chen Mei-ying, Taipei Times
Shipments of TV and PC panels this quarter are expected to remain flat from last quarter, due to the limited availability of key components, from display driver ICs to glass substrates, Innolux said.
This quarter, shipments of smaller display panels, those used in handsets, are to decline by a low single-digit percentage from last quarter, the company said.
The company’s net profit for the first quarter increased 14.1 percent to NT$11.57 billion (US$413.92 million), compared with NT$10.14 billion in the previous quarter and reversing from losses of NT$5.27 billion a year earlier.
Earnings per share rose to NT$1.15, up from NT$1.04 a quarter earlier and minus-NT$0.55 a year earlier.
Average sales prices for TV and PC panels last quarter soared 48.56 percent year-on-year to US$413 per square meter, up from US$278 per square meter in the same period last year, representing a quarterly increase of 14 percent from US$362 per square meter.
Gross margin improved to 25.8 percent, up from 20.4 percent the previous quarter and minus-1.8 percent a year earlier.
Innolux’s board of directors yesterday approved an initial public offering (IPO) plan for its subsidiary InnoCare Optoelectronics Corp (睿生光電), which was spun off from the company in 2019, a regulatory filing showed.
InnoCare, with initial capital of NT$200 million, makes display panels used in medical devices.
Innolux is in the process of spinning off its automotive display panel manufacturing arm, CarUX Technology Inc (群豐駿), after it suspended a plan last year due to a slump in global vehicle sales.
This year, the company has moved several hundred employees to the Tainan-based CarUX.
The board also approved the distribution of a cash dividend of NT$0.4 per share based on last year’s earnings per share of NT$0.17, the company said, adding that it plans to allocate some of its capital surplus to fund the dividend payout.
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