Actron Technology Corp (朋程科技), the world’s No. 1 automotive electronic diode supplier, yesterday said it plans to spend nearly NT$210 million (US$6.7 million) on research and development this year.
Actron commands a 51 percent share of the global automotive electronic diode market, with revenue from the segment last year constituting 88 percent of its total sales, company data showed.
The company is working on the research and development of high-performance diodes for vehicles, following the global trend of reducing carbon footprints and in line with new regulations on vehicle emissions.
“Apart from the company’s core business [of diodes], we hope to launch more automotive electronics components this year and increase the sales contribution from those products,” company spokesperson and director of finance C.C. Chen (陳俊吉) said by telephone yesterday.
The Taoyuan-based company also provides alternators, regulators and anti-lock brake system controllers to its international customers.
The diversified investment plan is in line with Actron’s long-term business strategy, which aims to improve gross margins and further boost sales, and has proven effective over the past few years, Chen said.
In the first three quarters of last year, gross margin increased from 31.72 percent to 34.4 percent annually, company data showed.
Asked about the company’s next sales catalyst, Chen said that ICs for automotive voltage regulators are expected to boost sales in the next two to three years.
Actron might obtain certification for voltage regulator ICs soon and hopes to begin shipments in the second half of this year at the earliest, he added.
The company also expects more orders from major customer WABCO Holdings Inc, a tier-one vehicle control system supplier, Chen said, adding that through collaboration with the US firm, Actron plans to acquire a plot of land on which to build a new plant in Qingdao, China, this year.
“The company generally allocates a capital budget for capacity expansion of between US$5 million and US$7 million per year,” Chen said, without elaborating on Actron’s capital expenditure plans for this year.
The company last year posted revenue of NT$3.53 billion, a 0.62 percent decline from NT$3.55 billion in the same period in 2015, due to weaker-than-expected global demand for automotive electronic diodes.
In the first three quarters of last year, net profit fell 15.5 percent to NT$389.41 million, a company filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange said, which attributed the decline in net profit to foreign-exchange losses of nearly NT$20 million in the period.
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