Catcher Technology Co (可成科技), an aluminum case provider for handsets and computers, reported better-than-expected earnings for the second quarter of this year on the back of orders from Apple Inc, analysts said yesterday.
During the April-to-June period, Catcher posted earnings of NT$2.37 billion (US$82 million), up 24.3 percent from the first quarter and up 182.8 percent from a year earlier, while sales rose 25.4 percent from the previous quarter to NT$8.9 billion.
The earnings per share (EPS) during the quarter stood at NT$3.43. Citigroup Global Markets said the EPS was about 30 percent higher than a market consensus.
Encouraged by the strong earnings, buying in Catcher shares on the Taiwan Stock Exchange emerged right after the market opened to lift the stock by 7 percent, the daily ceiling, at the end of the session to close at NT$248.50. It was the first new high in almost 45 months, analysts said.
“The significant gains in net profit reflected large and stable orders placed by Apple,” Horizon Securities (宏遠證券) analyst Benson Huang (黃重善) said.
Huang added that he was impressed by a 7.1 percentage point gain in gross margin enjoyed by Catcher in the second quarter compared with the first quarter. The second quarter gross margin stood at 47.1 percent.
“The rising gross margin was the result of the company’s improving yield rate,” Huang said.
“Catcher’s production technology meets Apple’s demand for sleek and stylish looks for the iPad, iPhone and MacBook Air,” Huang said.
The analyst said Catcher has become one of the important “Apple concept” stocks in the local bourse, attracting constant interest from foreign institutional investors.
“With Apple expected to continue to post record sales, Catcher is likely to further benefit under such favorable circumstances,” Huang said.
In the first six months of this year, Catcher posted a net profit of NT$4.29 billion, up 204.7 percent from a year earlier, with an EPS of NT$6.29, which came close to the NT$6.66 recorded last year.
Several foreign brokerages, including Goldman Sachs, Credit Suisse and HSBC Securities, have raised their target prices on Catcher shares after the second-quarter results.
Goldman hiked its target price to NT$300 from NT$230, HSBC raised its target price to NT$330 from NT$235 and Credit Suisse lifted its target price to NT$286 from NT$186.
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