TPK Holding Co Ltd (宸鴻), a touchpanel supplier to Apple Inc, on Thursday said revenue last month grew 0.6 percent to NT$11.43 billion (US$387.2 million), compared with NT$11.36 billion the previous month, hitting the highest monthly level since November 2015.
The company attributed the stronger revenue to an increase in tablet sales from customers, according to a filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange.
TPK supplies glass-based projected capacitive touch solutions and acts as a full-service system integrator of touch solutions used in smartphones, tablet PCs and consumer electronic devices.
Last month’s revenue growth came against market speculation about a contraction that was to result from potential order cuts by Apple due to tepid sales of the latest iPhone series.
The company’s fourth quarter revenue increased from NT$30.51 billion in the third quarter to NT$32.87 billion, an increase of 7.7 percent, beating TPK’s previous estimate of flat revenue growth.
TPK told investors in November that its internal target was to keep fourth-quarter revenue consistent throughout the quarter, taking a cue from the company’s business pattern over the past few years, in which revenue usually peaked in October only to lose steam in the following two months.
The company’s revenue for the whole of last year jumped 20.17 percent to NT$107.21 billion, compared with NT$89.22 billion in 2016, TPK said.
First Capital Management Inc (第一金證券投顧) on Friday said TPK would probably report a gross margin of 7.65 percent for last year, with a net profit of NT$2.797 billion, or earnings per share of NT$6.88.
TPK said this quarter would pick up if customers’ new products quickly gain traction.
Separately, General Interface Solution Holding Ltd (GIS, 業成), a touchpanel manufacturing arm of Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), on Friday reported that revenue declined 11.82 percent from November to last month, a second straight monthly decline amid inventory adjustments.
The company’s revenue last month was NT$13.29 billion, up 39.8 percent on an annual basis, bringing its revenue for the whole of last year to NT$130.82 billion, a year-on-year increase of 64.84 percent from 2016, said GIS, a film-based touch solution provider whose products are used in smartphones, tablets and notebook computers.
Revenue for last quarter totaled NT$46.21 billion, up 7.4 percent from the previous quarter, it said, adding that the figure met the company’s sales guidance.
TPK shares on Friday increased 1.63 percent to close at NT$87.2 in Taipei trading, while GIS shares rose 1.51 percent to close at NT$201.5.
After several years flying high as Asia’s best Nvidia Corp proxy, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) is increasingly vying with other artificial intelligence (AI) stocks for investor attention. Stock traders are chasing a wider array of beneficiaries as mainstream usage of AI creates demand for hardware beyond the most-advanced chips TSMC makes for Nvidia. Subthemes from the deepening memory crunch to advances in robotics are also luring bids. At the same time, investment caps on single stocks are pushing funds to diversify, while retail investors long familiar with TSMC through its US depositary receipts are being offered a broader set of
UNDER MICROSCOPE: Taiwan detained three people who allegedly conspired to buy servers in Taiwan and export them using fraudulent documentation, prosecutors said Nvidia Corp chief executive officer Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) on Saturday urged Super Micro Computer Inc to tighten up on compliance after Taiwan detained three people this week for allegedly making fraudulent declarations about artificial intelligence (AI) servers made by its US partner. The development marked the nation’s first crackdown on semiconductor smuggling, which grew after the US slapped restrictions on exports of high-end chips such as Nvidia AI accelerators to China. Nvidia is “rigorous” in explaining regulations to all of its partners, Huang told reporters after arriving in Taipei. “Ultimately Super Micro has to run their own company,” he said in response to
TECH RELIANCE: Growth is increasingly reflecting an unequal K-shaped distribution, where technology sectors outperform and other industries struggle, an expert said Standard Chartered Bank has significantly raised its forecast for Taiwan’s economic growth to 9.5 percent this year, up from 7.6 percent previously, citing surging artificial intelligence (AI) demand driving exports, semiconductor production and investment. The upgrade reflects a sustained AI supercycle that continues to fuel demand for advanced chips and technology infrastructure, which form the backbone of Taiwan’s exports, the bank said in a report this week. “We raise our 2026 growth forecast to reflect a much stronger-than-expected first-quarter GDP figure,” Standard Chartered senior economist for greater China and Asia Tommy Wu (胡東安) said in the report. Driven largely by a 35.3 percent
Netherlands-based semiconductor equipment supplier ASML Holding NV yesterday said that it is planning to hire an additional 1,000 people in Taiwan this year in response to growing demand from clients. ASML had previously planned to recruit 600 people this year, but that the plan has been adjusted upward, ASML vice president and ASML Taiwan general manager Grace Wang (汪佳慧) told reporters. ASML has a workforce of more than 4,500 in Taiwan, accounting for about 10 percent of its global total, Wang said. This year’s recruitment campaign would focus on adding people in the customer support, manufacturing and supply chain domains to assist ASML
RSS