Largan Precision Co (大立光), which makes lenses used in cameras and other information technology products, yesterday reported 30.25 percent annual growth in sales to NT$4.41 billion (US$142.11 million) for last month, representing the highest monthly sales this year.
The revenues grew 3.27 percent month-on-month from April’s NT$4.27 billion, according to a company filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange.
In the first five months of this year, Largan’s sales rose 43.16 percent to NT$19.23 billion from NT$13.43 billion posted in the same period last year.
“The sales performances for April and last month were in line with the company’s expectations,” a Largan representative said by telephone.
To meet growing client demand, the representative said the company recently started to install machines and equipment into two rented plants.
“We expect the new production facilities to start shipping products in the fourth quarter of this year at the earliest,” the representative said.
Deutsche Bank said Largan’s sales for this quarter would likely beat market consensus estimates, because most of its non-Apple handset customers are launching new premium, flagship models with high spec cameras, such as Xiaomi Corp’s (小米) Mi Note Pro and Huawei Technologies Co’s (華為) P8/P8 MAX.
“Due to seasonal factors, Largan’s monthly sales tend to show mild month-on-month growth throughout the second quarter. We foresee no exception this year,” Deutsche Bank analyst Birdy Lu (呂家霖) said in a note ahead of the release of Largan’s sales results.
In related news, Catcher Technology Co (可成科技), which supplies metal casings for Apple Inc’s iPhones, yesterday reported monthly revenue of NT$6.85 billion for last month, a jump of 55.15 percent year-on-year.
Catcher said it maintains its outlook for this quarter, with revenue likely to grow from last quarter’s NT$17.4 billion, without offering a sales estimate.
In an investors’ conference on April 28, the company said growth momentum would be moderate this month, next month and in August due to dissipating product cycles for existing projects.
However, sales would pick up robustly in September as new projects come to fruition, it said.
Largan shares rebounded 1.56 percent to NT$3,255 in Taipei trading yesterday, after plunging 7.25 percent on Thursday, while Catcher shares grew 1.47 percent to NT$346, compared with the 0.09 percent decline of the TAIEX.
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