Delta Electronics Inc (台達電) yesterday said this quarter’s sales are expected to be higher than the NT$38.83 billion (US$1.28 billion) in the first quarter of last year because of a better product mix and a stronger client base.
Growing demand for industrial automation products and various power solutions are also expected to boost annual sales this year from the record high of NT$177.1 billion (US$5.84 billion) set last year, the nation’s top power supply maker said.
“Except PC-related products, industrial automation products, fans, passive components and telecom equipment will all achieve growth this year from last year,” Delta chairman Yancey Hai (海英俊) told an investors’ conference in Taipei.
Cumulative sales during the first two months of the year expanded 11.89 percent year-on-year to NT$27.68 billion, the company said, adding that it expects sales of industrial automation products and passive components to grow at a double-digit rate this year, given the robust demand from the Chinese and US markets.
“Delta’s competitiveness [in the hot press choke market] will remain solid because we have not seen any competitors yet,” Hai said.
The hot press choke is a passive component the company tailored for Apple Inc’s iPhones.
Delta will focus on robots this year, as well as supercapacitors used as batteries for electric vehicles in particular, Hai said.
The company will also pay more attention to providing after-sales service to Chinese customers, he added.
As part of its efforts to expand its market in China, Delta on Tuesday announced it plans to spend US$100.05 million — in cash — to purchase 28.65 percent more of the shares of its China-based power supply subsidiary Delta Greentech (China) Co Ltd (中達電).
Once the transaction is approved by the government, Delta will hold up to 90.16 percent of Delta Greentech’s shares, it said.
Delta posted record profit of NT$4.73 billion last quarter, driven largely by increased shipments of passive components, particularly hot press chokes used in smartphones.
The figure brought Delta’s full-year net profit to NT$17.78 billion, the highest in the company’s history and a 20 percent increase from the NT$14.78 billion made in 2012.
Boosted by increased shipments of high-margin hot press chokes, Delta’s gross margin reached record high of 26 percent last quarter, and “will stay high, above 25 percent this quarter because of a better product portfolio,” Hai said.
Shares of Delta closed up 2.94 percent at NT$175 in Taipei trading yesterday, outperforming the benchmark TAIEX, which fell 0.2 percent.
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