Kinpo Electronics Inc (金寶電子) is likely to see its revenue increase by 11.57 percent annually to NT$47.67 billion (US$1.57 billion) this year, as the company’s umbrella group bids to expand its overseas production capacity amid signs that the global economy is recovering, Jih Sun Securities Investment Consulting Co (日盛投顧) said in a report.
The investment advisory firm said that Kinpo would likely continue to grow its revenue from last year, when its total sales rose 9.93 percent to NT$42.72 billion from the NT$38.85 billion seen in 2012.
“Thanks to new orders for electronic calculators, printers and external hard disk drives, Kinpo is expected to continue to see sales in its core business rise,” Jih Sun analyst Wayne Chen (陳有裕) said.
Kinpo is part of the New Kinpo Group (新金寶集團), which also includes Cal-Comp Electronics (Thailand) PCL (泰金寶) and AcBel Polytech Inc (康舒科技).
Group chairman Rock Hsu (許勝雄) said earlier this month that New Kinpo plans to expand its production capacity in China, Thailand, the Philippines and Brazil with a total investment of about NT$3 billion this year, the Chinese-language Web site Business Next (數位時代) reported on Jan. 17.
By expanding its overseas capacity, the group aims to ship 100,000 3D printers, 50 million external hard disk drives, 25 million set-top boxes and more than 10 million inkjet and laser printers this year, Business Next quoted New Kinpo CEO Simon Shen (沈軾榮) as saying.
Kinpo has also set a target of selling 1 million 3D printers over the next three years, after its 72 percent-owned subsidiary, XYZprinting Inc (三緯), launched an entry-level 3D printer, the da Vinci 1.0, in August last year at a retail price of NT$15,000 per unit.
Earlier this month, XYZprinting unveiled the upgraded da Vinci 2.0 and 2.1 models at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nevada, and is planning to launch medium and high-end models costing between US$800 and US$1,000 per unit in the second half.
“The 3D printer business will add to the company’s sales momentum, but it is the divestment of Vibo Telecom Inc (威寶電信) that will enable the company to stop incurring non-operating losses in the future,” Chen said.
In November last year, Kinpo and Compal Electronics Inc (仁寶電腦) reached a deal with 4G spectrum license winner Taiwan Star Cellular Corp (台灣之星) to sell the unprofitable telecom in a share-swap deal. Kinpo owned 47.95 percent of Vibo and booked a NT$4.93 billion loss from the deal.
As a result of the divestment, Jih Sun forecast that Kinpo would swing into the black this year, with a net profit of NT$1.93 billion, or NT$1.32 per share, from last year’s estimated net losses of NT$3.98 billion, or NT$2.73 a share.
Its gross margin is expected to improve by 0.06 percentage points to 6.99 percent this year on the back of product mix adjustments, including the launch of 3D printers, he added.
Kinpo shares closed at NT$11.3 on Monday, the last trading day before the Lunar New Year holiday, and have risen 70.69 percent over the past 12 months, compared with the broader market’s 8.47 percent increase over the same period.
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