Flat-panel maker Innolux Corp (群創) yesterday said its losses narrowed to NT$7.77 billion (US$254.5 million) last quarter from the prior quarter’s NT$12.39 billion, thanks to an unusual uptick in average selling prices (ASP) during the industry’s slow season.
Blended ASP climbed to US$240 per square meter, from US$235 in the prior quarter, the company said in a statement.
Innolux had expected prices to remain steady last quarter.
Photo: CNA
Gross margin improved to minus-7 percent last quarter, from minus-15 percent in the previous quarter.
Innolux expects the price uptrend to carry into the current quarter, benefiting from improving inventory buildup ahead of a shopping festival in China in June.
Panel shipments are expected to increase this quarter, Innolux said, adding that demand would continue improving from the second quarter.
The company also expects TV panel prices to climb further this quarter, while prices of some panels used in monitors would see a modest rebound, as customers’ inventory depletion is coming to an end.
Improving demand is expected to drive up blended ASP by about 5 percent this quarter from the previous quarter, the company said.
Shipments of TV, computer and monitor panels are to expand 12 to 13 percent sequentially this quarter, while those of small and medium panels would likely grow 12 to 13 percent, it said.
Separately, Innolux chairman Jim Hung (洪進揚) said the company’s board of directors has approved a 5 percent capital reduction in cash to enhance shareholders’ return on equity and to improve the company’s capital structure.
Shareholders would receive a payback of NT$0.5 per common share after the share cancelation, Hung told a news conference at the Taiwan Stock Exchange yesterday.
Innoloux’s capital would decline to NT$90.79 billion following the capital reduction, he said.
The capital reduction proposal is subject to approval by shareholders during the annual shareholder’s meeting on May 31.
Innolux also decided not to distribute dividends this year after reporting a loss of NT$27.99 billion for last year, its first annual loss in about a decade, amid an industry slump caused by oversupply, Hung said.
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