Catcher Technology Co (可成科技), a metal casing suppliers for Apple Inc’s iPhones, yesterday said it expects business to pick up in the second half of this year, as the company is to start shipping new products for clients next month.
“There are many clients launching new products next month, such as new notebooks or smartphones. The growth momentum in the second half is pretty strong,” Catcher chairman Allen Hung (洪水樹) told shareholders at the company’s annual general meeting in Tainan.
In addition, Catcher has received orders from a new US client for a smartwatch and the company is likely to start shipping the product from next quarter, Hung said.
The main growth driver in the second half is expected to be smartphones in terms of shipment volume and sales contribution, Hung said, with other contributions from notebook computers and other products.
Overall, Catcher’s annual revenue this year could remain flat or grow slightly from last year’s NT$82.41 billion (US$2.51 billion), he said.
During the meeting, a shareholder suggested Catcher initiate a capital reduction scheme to raise the company’s price-to-earnings ratio and boost the firm’s share price.
Catcher shares have dropped 13.04 percent in the past three months amid speculation Apple would change its casing designs for the new iPhone next year. Shares closed at NT$220 yesterday in Taipei trading. With earnings per share of NT$32.6 for last year, the company’s price-to-earnings ratio stands at about 6.74.
Hung said reducing capital would not affect Catcher’s price-to-earnings ratio, as there is no direct relationship between the share price fluctuation and the size of a company’s capital stock.
Hung said the company has never considered buying back shares to boost its stock price and would prefer to invest funds in operation development, adding that if Catcher had more than enough cash, it would consider distributing higher cash dividends to shareholders.
Despite speculation about its major client changing its casings from metal to glass next year, Hung said he expects a limited impact on demand for metal casings this year and next year.
While it is possible that some smartphones might adopt glass casings for both their front and back covers later next year, their shipments are unlikely not be massive in the prelimiary period, he said, without elaborating.
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