Metal casing supplier Catcher Technology Co (可成) yesterday saw its shares rise by the 7 percent daily limit after reporting record sales for last quarter.
Catcher, which supplies casings for Apple Inc’s iPhone, on Monday posted sales of NT$17.4 billion (US$558.55 million) last quarter, 67.05 percent higher than the previous year’s NT$10.41 billion and 2.35 percent more than the NT$17 billion it made in the previous quarter.
“The strong sales were mainly fueled by continued strong demand for the existing [iPhones] and new smartphone products,” Catcher spokesman James Wu (巫俊毅) yesterday said by telephone.
Although the new iPhones debuted on the market more than six months ago, demand remains strong, Wu said.
The company’s first-quarter sales beat Catcher chairman Allen Horng’s (洪水樹) forecast made on March 20, when he said sales for last quarter could decline from the previous quarter amid the slow season.
The company’s shares surged to NT$360.5 in Taipei trading yesterday, outperforming the TAIEX, which gained 0.43 percent. The stock has risen 29.21 percent since September last year when Apple launched the iPhone 6.
Apart from handset casings, Catcher also supplies metal casings for major brands of notebook computers and tablets, with major clients including Apple, Dell Inc, Hewlett-Packard Co, Sony Corp and HTC Corp (宏達電).
For this quarter, Wu said sales would continue to grow from last quarter and hit a new record, without providing figures.
Yuanta Securities Investment Consulting Co (元大投顧) said the company’s sales for this quarter will likely beat the market consensus of NT$18 billion, as clients continue to place new orders for casings for new smartphone, notebook computer and tablet products.
However, Hua Nan Securities Investment Management (華南投顧) is cautious about the sales outlook for this month, citing a recent fire at the firm’s plant in Suzhou, China, on March 28.
“The Chinese government may demand that Catcher suspend operations at the Suzhou plant and carry out an inspection, which might consequently affect Catcher’s sales this month,” the brokerage said in a note yesterday.
Operations at the Suzhou plant were suspended by the Chinese government in 2011 so that the firm could improve the plant’s environmental impact.
In response, Wu said the company does not offer a monthly guidance, but reiterated that this quarter would be better than last quarter.
In a filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange on March 29, Catcher said the fire had only a limited impact on the firm and would not affect the plant’s production capacity.
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