Ginko International Co (金可國際), which makes contact lenses and lens-care solution, yesterday forecast that sales this year would see strong double-digit percentage growth and hit a new record, propelled by rising demand across its main markets.
“We aim to become the largest contact lens maker in Asia in the next three years,” Ginko vice president Sonny Pan (潘銘雄) told an investors’ conference in Taipei.
Ginko operates the Formosa Optical (寶島眼鏡) chain in Taiwan and markets its products under the Hydron (海昌) and Horien (海儷恩) brands across the Taiwan Strait.
Despite the negative impact from a Chinese economic slowdown and increasing competition from Japanese and South Korean brands, Ginko said it is the leading company in China’s e-commerce market for contact lenses, with a 31 percent market share.
That compares with a 25 percent market share by Bausch & Lomb, in second place, and Johnson & Johnson’s 22 percent in third place, the company said.
Ginko also holds 41 percent of the Chinese market for contact lens solution, it added.
“We anticipate robust growth momentum in China as the smaller brands begin to encroach on segments previously controlled by the big names,” Pan said.
However, smaller brands are still too small to influence the market, as they hold only about 2 to 4 percent of annual sales each, he said.
CIMB Securities Ltd said in a client note last month that new entrants in China are competing for the bottom 20-percent share, while the top five brands still command 80 percent of the market.
However, as the Chinese contact lens market is now growing at a slower rate — compared with the past few years’ above 15 percent annual increase — expanding into other foreign markets would be key for Ginko to sustain its growth momentum, Yuanta Securities Investment Consulting Co (元大投顧) said in a separate note last month.
Pan yesterday said the company’s products received certification for sales in Japan in November last year, and it expects to receive certification from South Korean authorities this year.
Before the end of the second half of the year, the company plans to launch higher-margin silicone hydrogel products in Europe, while a mobile app will be launched in Taiwan to aid online sales at home, he said.
In addition, sales of Hydron brand products are to begin in Japan, Thailand and Malaysia, he said.
To keep up with demand, the company is to expand its output in Taiwan and China, raising its combined annual production capacity to 260 million units from 215 million units before the end of this year.
Aggregate sales in the first two months of this year rose 13.07 percent annually to NT$96.3 million, company data showed.
Last year, Ginko’s net income rose 8.3 percent annually to NT$1.57 billion (US$48.39 million), with consolidated sales rising 5 percent to NT$6.01 billion.
Ginko’s board announced plans to distribute NT$6.8 per share in cash dividends, based on last year’s earnings per share of NT$16.95.
Ginko shares yesterday gained 0.16 percent to NT$323, outperforming the TAIEX, which fell 1.67 percent to 8,513.3 points.
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