Walsin Technology Corp (華新科技), the nation’s second-largest passive components supplier, yesterday reported a record-high net profit of NT$1.31 billion (US$44.02 million) for last quarter, thanks to strong demand and price hikes.
Last quarter’s figure more than tripled from NT$397 million in the first quarter last year and rose 44.64 percent from NT$905 million in the fourth quarter last year, company data showed.
Earnings per share climbed to NT$2.71 last quarter, compared with NT$0.77 a year earlier and NT$1.83 the previous quarter.
Gross profit also soared to an all-time high of NT$2.34 billion last quarter, from NT$1.06 billion a year ago and NT$1.73 billion in the previous quarter.
That brought last quarter’s gross margin to 35.8 percent, the highest in the company’s history, compared with 29 percent in the fourth quarter last year and 22.8 percent a year earlier.
Revenue last quarter climbed 42.8 percent year-on-year or 11.5 percent quarter-on-quarter to NT$6.64 billion, as the company raised prices amid a supply crunch.
Passive components used in industrial devices contributed about 30 percent to the company’s revenue last quarter, making it the biggest revenue source for Walsin.
Since the second half of last year, Walsin’s factories have been running at 100 percent capacity.
To expand its multilayer ceramic capacitor (MLCC) capacity and save on leasing costs, the company in July last year bought the manufacturing facilities of Walton Advanced Engineering Inc (華東科技) for NT$24.4 million.
Walsin attributed the shortage to a strategic shift by its Japanese competitors, who have turned their focus to high-end products used in cars and to high-capacity MLCCs, which reduced supply for mainstream applications such as PCs, handsets and consumer electronics.
The company said that MLCC demand would continue to fuel its growth this year and that it would continue investing in high-capacity, high-voltage and higher-end MLCCs to meet demand from autonomous cars, cryptocurrency mining and industrial automation.
In a separate filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange, Walsin said the company plans to issue up to 20 million common shares via a private placement.
The company is to use the proceeds to fund its long-term development plans and enhance its competitiveness through a strategic partnership, it said.
Shares of Walsin yesterday rallied 9.87 percent to close at NT$206 in Taipei trading, while its bigger rival, Yageo Corp (國巨), saw its shares surge 4.47 percent to NT$655.
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