E Ink Holdings Inc (元太科技), which supplies e-paper displays for Amazon.com’s Kindle series, yesterday announced a strategic partnership with Chinese LCD panel maker Jiangxi Holitech Technology Co Ltd (江西合力泰科技) aimed at gaining a stronger foothold in China’s e-paper display market.
The partnership is the latest progress made by E Ink to promote its small-sized e-paper displays as demand for e-readers slows.
E Ink said it would collaborate with Jiangxi Holitech to expand the use of e-paper displays to mobile phones, retail electronic labels and digital price-tags, as well as to wearable devices, according to a joint statement issued in China.
Photo: Chen Mei-ying, Taipei Times
“The strategic cooperation with Jiangxi Holitech will help the company boost its market share and shipments of different segments of China’s e-paper display market,” E Ink chairman and chief executive officer Frank Ko (柯富仁) said in the statement.
Based on the agreement, E Ink is to supply e-paper displays and modules to Jiangxi Holitech as well as providing advanced technologies to help the Chinese firm develop end products that utilize its e-paper displays.
Two weeks ago, E Ink said Italian packaging supplier Palladio Group had adopted its e-paper displays for a smart packaging solution for pharmaceuticals to monitor the quality of medicines shipped to patients.
Last month, the company said Germany luggage manufacturer Rimowa had applied its e-paper displays to its electronic luggage tags, which provide the same information as paper luggage tags, but with extra benefits such as allowing passengers to update the information on the electronic tags via their smartphones.
E Ink said in August that revenue from e-paper displays for e-readers would drop to about 70 percent of its total revenue this year, while revenue from electronic tags, traffic signs and displays for mobile phones would make up a higher share of about 30 percent from last year.
In the quarter ending Sept. 30, E Ink’s revenue grew 7.87 percent to NT$4.39 billion (US$134.22 million), compared with NT$4.07 billion in the same period last year. The growth matched the company’s expectation of a 5 percent to 10 percent annual increase in revenue last quarter.
E Ink shares rallied 2.47 percent to NT$16.6 yesterday, outperforming the TAIEX, which rose 0.82 percent.
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