Metal casing supplier Catcher Technology Co (可成科技) is optimistic that stronger demand for PC and mobile devices will boost sales this year.
The company yesterday reported that sales last month rose 14.3 percent month-on-month to NT$6.52 billion (US$223.68 million), representing 31 percent growth from the same period last year and setting a new record for March.
Aggregate sales in the first quarter totaled NT$20.41 billion, dipping 37.8 percent from the previous quarter, but still representing 40 percent year-on-year growth.
The first-quarter sales marked the company’s strongest showing yet in the January-to-March period and the first time that the figure exceeded NT$20 billion, Catcher said.
While PC demand growth is expected to continue throughout the first half of this year, momentum would shift to mobile devices in the second half, it said.
Demand for mobile devices would be more robust this year compared with last year, it added.
Separately, handset camera lens supplier Largan Precision Co (大立光) reported that sales last month recovered from a tumble in February, growing 41.72 percent month-on-month to NT$3.14 billion, but still 13.41 percent less than in the same period last year.
The company reported sales of NT$8.88 billion in the first quarter, rising 44.82 percent quarterly, but falling 17.86 percent on an annual basis.
Largan said that 10-megapixel camera lenses made up the bulk of its sales last month at 70 to 80 percent, while 8-megapixel lenses represented 10 to 20 percent of shipments and 5 megapixel lenses made up about 10 percent.
Shares in Largan on Tuesday ended unchanged at NT$3,185 in Taipei trading as bargain-hunting helped the stock recover from a 4.93 percent decline on Monday after a US brokerage cut its target price for the stock from NT$3,000 to NT$2,800 due to lower-than-expected shipments of Apple Inc’s iPhone X.
The company is scheduled to hold an earnings conference on Thursday next week, with investors now focusing on the company’s order visibility as it serves new customers, such as Samsung Electronics Co, and when market conditions will recover from an ongoing lull.
Shares in Catcher have risen 7.62 percent since the beginning of this year, closing at NT$353 on Tuesday in Taipei trading.
The stock has received upgrades from securities analysts, citing robust demand growth across product lines since the second half of last year.
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