Silitech Technology Corp (
Silitech commanded a 15 percent market share last year, ranking it as the world's No. 4 maker of keypads, behind Japan's Shinetsu Chemical Co, Sunarrow Ltd and Polymatech Co, the company said. Its major clients include mobile phone heavyweights Motorola Inc, Siemens AG and Nokia Corp.
"Our goal is to become the industry's No. 1 player in three years, when we are expected to account for more than a 20 percent share of the market," James Huang (
Huang said his company's partnership with Nokia would play a key role in its growth. Most multinational mobile handset companies, including Nokia, have been struggling in recent years with cut-throat competition, prompting them to seek ways to cut costs.
"Nokia has built a solid relationship with its Japanese partners since the company started its handset business," Huang said. But faced with cost pressures, mobile handset makers are being forced to outsource more orders to suppliers that can offer cheaper prices with comparable quality, he said.
"On top of Nokia, rising orders from South Korean companies, such as Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics, will also help increase Silitech's global presence," he added.
This year, the company expects Motorola to account for 30 percent of Silitech's sales in the keypad business, while Siemens will likely represent around 18 percent and 20 percent and Nokia 10 percent. Growing orders from Silitech's major clients will help boost its keypad shipments by around 20 percent to 119.5 million units this year from about 99.6 million last year, the company projects.
Brokerage Morgan Stanley forecasts Silitech will make a net profit of NT$917.4 million (US$29 million) on consolidated revenue of NT$5.66 billion this year. Last year, net profit was NT$783.8 million.
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