Everlight Electronics Co (億光) foresees its performance this year to be better than last year, supported by improving demand for LED backlights and lighting products, company chairman Robert Yeh (葉寅夫) said yesterday.
Everlight, one of the nation’s leading LED lighting and product suppliers, reported a 5.86 percent annual decline in sales to NT$28.81 billion (US$854.64 million) last year, mainly because of soft demand for LED backlights.
Net income in the first three quarters of last year reached NT$1.28 billion, or earnings per share of NT$3.01, down 21.47 percent from the previous year’s NT$1.63 billion.
“Last year’s earnings per share would be more than NT$4 per share,” Yeh told reporters on the sidelines of a press conference in Taipei, declining to disclose exact figures as the company has not filed its results with the Taiwan Stock Exchange.
The chairman said Everlight’s win in two patent disputes with Japan-based Nichia Corp last year should help the company gain shares in the Japanese, South Korean, European and the US LED lighting markets this year.
He added that it is good news for the industry that Royal Philips NV canceled its planned US$2.8 billion sale of its lighting-components unit Lumileds to a consortium led by China’s GO Scale Capital because of opposition by US regulators.
GO Scale Capital is sponsored mainly by China-based GSR Ventures (金沙江創投) and Oak Investment Partners.
Yeh said that order might be restored in the industry as those price-cutting Chinese companies would not be able to expand their reach in the global market through the purchase of Lumileds due to a lack of patents.
However, Yeh said the excessive supply and fierce competition from China has already dragged down the average selling prices (ASP) of LED products in the Chinese market, putting pressure on Everlight’s product prices.
In light of the sharp decline in ASPs, Yeh said the company is focusing on tightening inventory management this year.
Although ASPs are relatively low, as the overall demand for LED backlights and lighting products is improving, Yeh said he is still upbeat that the firm’s operations will outperform last year’s.
The chairman said that the first phase of Everlight’s new plant in Miaoli (苗栗) would become operational next quarter, with the production capacity to be completely used for automotive LED lighting products.
Construction on the second phase of the plant is scheduled to begin next year, he added.
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