Largan Precision Co (大立光), one of the nation’s leading smartphone camera lens suppliers, said yesterday that its consolidated sales last month were only slightly higher than in May because of the second-quarter slow season effect, but the company expects sales growth to pick up beginning this month as the high-tech sector enters its peak season in the third quarter.
Last month, Largan posted consolidated sales of NT$1.97 billion (US$65.67 million), up about 0.5 percent from May and 102 percent higher than the previous year.
The company’s consolidated sales totaled NT$5.84 billion in the second quarter, up more than 14 percent from the first quarter, and NT$10.96 billion in the first half, up 57 percent year-on-year, according to company data.
Analysts said Largan’s sales, released after the close of trading yesterday, fell within market expectations, with analysts having taken into account the slow season.
Largan shares rose 3.05 percent to close at NT$945 on the Taiwan Stock Exchange yesterday on bargain-hunting after the European Central Bank buoyed markets by announcing a day earlier that it would leave its key interest rates unchanged.
Largan’s gains helped it remain the most expensive stock on the local bourse, replacing semiconductor inspection tool provider Hermes Microvision Inc (漢微科), which closed up 0.44 percent at NT$923.
Analysts believe that Largan’s third-quarter shipments are poised to increase on US-based Apple Inc’s launch of its new iPhone.
Apple is one of the camera lens supplier’s major customers.
Largan said its major clients, including the world’s top 10 smartphone brands, have started restocking their inventory due to the peak-season effect, leading it to believe that its sales in the second half would outpace those in the first half of the year.
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