Hiwin Technologies Corp (上銀科技), which produces linear guideways and ballscrews, expects revenues to grow by a double-digit percentage this year, thanks to increasing demand for industrial automation and growing orders from the US, Europe and Japan, a company executive said yesterday.
Revenue last year totaled NT$15.08 billion (US$478.88 million), the company said in a filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange.
Sales are expected to grow on a quarterly basis this year, Hiwin chairman Eric Chuo (卓永財) told reporters before the company’s year-end banquet at its Taichung headquarters.
For the current quarter, Hiwin expects sales to be higher than the same period last year, driven by robust demand for key components used in electronics, aviation and automotive products, Chuo said.
Hiwin’s medical automation segment will start contributing to revenues next month, he said, adding that the firm received an order for cross ballscrews from a Japanese robot manufacturer last month.
“To meet clients’ demand, we had shipped more products in January, and more than 60 percent of our employees have volunteered to work during the Lunar New Year holiday,” Chuo said.
Employees will receive additional pay for working during the holiday, he said.
Hiwin also reported that sales grew 25 percent year-on-year to NT$1.31 billion for last month, mainly due to increased shipments of electronics products, Chuo said.
While the depreciation of the euro and the yen against the US dollar would adversely affect Hiwin’s revenues, the company should still be able to maintain its gross margin at about 37 percent on the back of improving technologies and cost reductions.
Yuanta Securities Investment and Consulting Co (元大投顧) said Hiwin’s monthly revenue likely bottomed out last month and should start rising this quarter.
The stock’s steady climb should continue this quarter given its strong fundamentals and growing automation business, Yuanta analyst Steve Huang (黃柏璁) said in a client note on Jan. 19.
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