Largan Precision Co (大立光), the nation’s leading maker of handset lenses, yesterday reported record revenue for last month, supported by rising demand for optical lens modules and optoelectronic components for Apple Inc’s iPhone 5 and iPad Mini products.
Consolidated revenue reached NT$3.01 billion (US$103.6 million) last month, rising 24.6 percent from NT$2.42 billion in October and 132.36 percent from NT$1.295 billion in the same month last year, the Nantun (南屯), Greater Taichung-based company said in a filing to the Taiwan Stock Exchange after the market closed.
Between January and last month, cumulative revenue totaled NT$16.91 billion, up 15.24 percent from the NT$14.68 billion recorded in the same period last year.
Overall, analysts forecast Largan’s sales this quarter would grow by about 50 percent compared with the previous quarter, with earnings per share of NT$15 for the year.
For next year, analysts forecast Largan’s sales would expand by 50 percent compared with this year, with earnings per share of NT$50.
“With more smartphones equipped with high-pixel cameras being manufactured, the demand for optoelectronic components should increase and drive up Largan’s sales through the first quarter of next year,” Horizon Securities (宏遠證券) analyst Cheng Kai-ming (鄭開明) said by telephone yesterday.
Largan began production at a new plant in Taichung Precision Machinery Park in October to meet the increasing demand for smartphones.
Cheng said that in terms of sales and capacity, Largan was far ahead of the competition.
“Largan will be the biggest gainer, as the smartphone market expands with one more operating system [Windows 8] and new specifications and hardware being added, forcing smartphone vendors to upgrade cameras for their smartphones to stay competitive,” Cheng said.
The soaring demand for low-end smartphones in China might also help Largan continue to achieve record-high sales and gross margins next year, he added.
Largan’s shares rose 1.65 percent to NT$800 yesterday. The stock has risen 41.34 percent so far this year, Taiwan Stock Exchange data showed.
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