Lite-On Technology Corp (光寶科技) yesterday said it would count on non-PC and non-smartphone businesses to drive its growth momentum next year, as its camera modules and smartphones face rising competition.
“We expect the industrial automation, biomedical technology and components for Internet-of-Things [IoT] segments to turn profitable next year,” Lite-On chairman Raymond Soong (宋恭源) told shareholders at the firm’s annual general meeting in Taipei.
Poor demand for camera modules and smartphones dragged down revenue last quarter, but sales growth might pick up steam next quarter, driven by the traditional peak season and the increasing orders from smartphone clients, the company said.
Chief executive officer Warren Chen (陳廣中) said this quarter’s sales are likely to be flat from last quarter’s NT$52.8 billion (US$1.7 billion) due to soft demand for its products across the board.
However, Chen said he was upbeat about the business outlook for LED lighting, adding that Lite-On’s LED street lamps have secured the largest share of the US market — 40 percent — the same percent that it holds in Taiwan’s market.
The company also sees a growing demand for its automotive LED applications, he added.
Revenue from its LED lighting segment this year is expected to grow by between 20 percent and 30 percent annually, Soong said, without providing last year’s figures.
Lite-On’s automotive electronics segment contributed NT$10 billion, or 4.33 percent, of the firm’s total revenue of NT$230.63 billion last year.
This segment’s sales are expected to grow by between 20 percent and 30 percent annually this year, Soong said.
“Sales generated from automotive electronics are forecast to reach NT$20 billion by 2018,” he said.
In biotechnology, Lite-On gained the US and European countries’ certificates for finger-prick blood testing devices last year, and is set to obtain Chinese approval by the end of this year, Soong said.
Shareholders yesterday approved the company’s planned dividend payout of NT$2.02 per share — a cash dividend of NT$1.97 and a stock dividend of 0.5 percent — based on last year’s net income of NT$6.46 billion, or NT$2.8 per share.
The dividend distribution translates into a payout ratio of 72.14 percent and a cash dividend yield of 5.47 percent based on the firm’s closing price of NT$35.95 in Taipei trading yesterday.
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