TPK Holding Co (TPK, 宸鴻), which supplies touch panels for Apple Inc’s Apple Watches and iPads, yesterday posted quarterly losses of NT$618 million (US$19.6 million) for last quarter due to seasonally weak demand, an inventory glut, and customers’ product transitions.
TPK lost NT$1.01 billion in the first quarter. Gross margin fell to 2.1 percent last quarter from 6.5 percent in the second quarter because of a decline in factory utilization, the company said.
TPK said it expected business to pick up this quarter.
TPK chief executive officer Michael Chung (鍾依華) said the company is optimistic about demand for touch sensors, applications for the company’s open-cell touch display solution, fingerprint sensors, curved displays and new devices running on Microsoft’s new operating system Windows 10.
“We believe that pressure sensors [for force touchpanels] will see widespread adoption across the mobile-device market this year,” Chung said.
TPK’s revenue this quarter is expected to grow by 50 percent from last quarter’s NT$23.7 billion, Chung said, adding that gross margin is set to improve to between 2 percent and 6 percent.
TPK is scheduled to begin shipping pressure sensors in the second half and expects the volume to grow significantly next year.
TPK’s forecast of strong growth this quarter contrasts with the outlook for the touchpanel industry as a whole, which Chung expects to remain stagnant due to a lack of game-changing apps and products in the mobile-device market.
TPK said the company’s operating costs shrank to NT$1.62 billion last quarter from the NT$1.81 billion in the first quarter due to organizational restructuring.
Referring to the high expectations for a certain smart watch, Chung said that the wearable device market is still in its infancy in terms of ecosystem and applications, but he is optimistic on the growth potential of the segment, adding that the first-generation iPhone also had a slow start.
Chung said that apart from telling the time and fitness applications such as heart rate monitoring, uses for smart watches might expand to unlocking electronic doors, payment processing and personal security monitoring for children and the disabled.
SETBACK: Apple’s India iPhone push has been disrupted after Foxconn recalled hundreds of Chinese engineers, amid Beijing’s attempts to curb tech transfers Apple Inc assembly partner Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), also known internationally as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), has recalled about 300 Chinese engineers from a factory in India, the latest setback for the iPhone maker’s push to rapidly expand in the country. The extraction of Chinese workers from the factory of Yuzhan Technology (India) Private Ltd, a Hon Hai component unit, in southern Tamil Nadu state, is the second such move in a few months. The company has started flying in Taiwanese engineers to replace staff leaving, people familiar with the matter said, asking not to be named, as the
The prices of gasoline and diesel at domestic fuel stations are to rise NT$0.1 and NT$0.4 per liter this week respectively, after international crude oil prices rose last week, CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) announced yesterday. Effective today, gasoline prices at CPC and Formosa stations are to rise to NT$27.3, NT$28.8 and NT$30.8 per liter for 92, 95 and 98-octane unleaded gasoline respectively, the companies said in separate statements. The price of premium diesel is to rise to NT$26.2 per liter at CPC stations and NT$26 at Formosa pumps, they said. The announcements came after international crude oil prices
SinoPac Financial Holdings Co (永豐金控) is weighing whether to add a life insurance business to its portfolio, but would tread cautiously after completing three acquisitions in quick succession, president Stanley Chu (朱士廷) said yesterday. “We are carefully considering whether life insurance should play a role in SinoPac’s business map,” Chu told reporters ahead of an earnings conference. “Our priority is to ensure the success of the deals we have already made, even though we are tracking some possible targets.” Local media have reported that Mercuries Life Insurance Co (三商美邦人壽), which is seeking buyers amid financial strains, has invited three financial
CAUTION: Right now, artificial intelligence runs on faith, not productivity and eventually, the risk of a bubble will emerge,’ TIER economist Gordon Sun said Taiwanese manufacturers turned more optimistic last month, ending a five-month streak of declining sentiment as concerns over US tariffs, currency volatility and China’s overcapacity began to ease, the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research (TIER) said yesterday. The manufacturing business confidence index rose 1.17 points from June to 86.8, its first rebound since February. TIER economist Gordon Sun (孫明德) attributed the uptick to fading trade uncertainties, a steadier New Taiwan dollar and reduced competitive pressure from Chinese producers. Taiwan’s semiconductor industry is unlikely to face significant damage from Washington’s ongoing probe into semiconductors, given the US’ reliance on Taiwanese chips to power artificial
RSS