Genius Electronic Optical Co (玉晶光), which supplies camera lenses for Apple Inc’s iPhones, yesterday said that revenue this quarter might decline slightly from a year earlier when it made NT$6.83 billion (US$210 million).
However, the company is optimistic about next year’s outlook, as more higher-margin periscope lenses are deployed in more models, Genius chairman Jones Chen (陳天慶) told an online investors’ conference.
Chinese brands are also likely to grow shipments next year, he added.
Photo: CNA
Genius’ revenue sank about 15 percent to NT$7.49 billion last quarter, compared with NT$8.85 billion in the third quarter last year, due to weaker demand for augmented-reality (AR) and virtual-reality (VR) devices, the company said.
The market demand for AR and VR gadgets fell short of the company’s exceptions due to the high price tags, it said.
Genius had expected the AR and VR business to make up about 15 to 20 percent of its total revenue, but eventually it only accounted for an insignificant portion, it said.
The company still expects the AR and VR business to be a revenue growth driver in the future, as customers’ roadmaps show that they are developing new products that offer a better user experience and new applications, Genius president Lee Kuo (郭英理) said.
Bucking the trend, smart glasses saw surprisingly strong demand, Lee said.
Third-quarter net profit declined about 12 percent to NT$1.38 billion from NT$1.57 billion a year earlier, the company said.
During the first three quarters, net profit surged 80.6 percent to NT$3.47 billion from NT$1.93 billion, earnings per share jumped from NT$17 to NT$30.73, and gross margin rose from 33.26 percent to 37.11 percent, the company said.
Kuo said that customers are requesting slimmer camera lenses, which is the trend and a challenge for the company.
Genius is on track to offer slim camera lenses, he added.
His remarks came amid market speculation that Apple plans to introduce an ultra-slim iPhone next year.
The company also expects the emergence of more artificial intelligence features on edge devices such as smartphones in the next one to two years to help boost adoption of advanced camera lenses, Kuo said.
Meanwhile, Genius expects minimal impact from US president-elect Donald Trump’s threats to hike tariffs on all products imported into the US, as camera lenses are in the upstream of the supply chains, he said.
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