Shares of smartphone camera lens supplier Largan Precision Co (大立光) yesterday took a hit, as investor sentiment cooled ahead of Apple Inc’s iPhone launch on Wednesday next week.
The stock dipped 5.11 percent to close at NT$4,640 in Taipei trading, underperforming the broader market, which slid 0.64 percent to 10,924.30 points.
Other key companies in the Apple supply chain were also affected, including Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電), which dropped 1.1 percent to NT$261, and Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), which declined 1 percent to NT$79.30.
Largan’s bigger pullback reflected its disappointing sales last month.
The company on Wednesday said that revenue last month rose 10 percent annually to NT$5.51 billion (US$178.88 million), bringing aggregate sales in the first eight months of the year to NT$32 billion, 1.26 percent higher compared with a year earlier.
The results fell short of some analysts’ estimates.
Largan gave a conservative outlook for this month, saying it expects sales to hold at current levels, due to production yield challenges and limited capacity.
As the iPhone launch approaches, Largan’s growth prospects could be rocked by a number of developments, local media reported, citing a recent report by Morgan Stanley.
Apple has secured a 10 percent discount on smartphone camera lenses from suppliers, while the US technology giant is expected to slash the retail price of its premium OLED screen models and delay shipments of lower-priced LCD screen models, postponing Largan’s anticipated sales growth spurt, Morgan Stanley said earlier this week.
Other analysts said that as Largan is already producing at capacity, it has little room to take on additional orders from Android phone vendors, such as Huawei Technologies Co (華為) and other Chinese brands, which have been championing the company’s advanced triple-lens design.
Expanding production capacity would be a tall order for the company, which has been working with the government to find land for new plants, Largan has said.
Still, some analysts remain optimistic about Largan’s prospects next year, as the company is well positioned to benefit from aggressive upgrades in smartphone camera specifications.
The rear-facing camera of next year’s iPhones could be upgraded from this year’s 7-megapixel sensor with a four-piece lens to a 12-megapixel sensor with a five-piece lens, Yuanta Securities Investment Consulting Co (元大投顧) said.
Largan’s leading position in smartphone camera technology is further solidified by its seven-piece, periscope lens designs, which are expected to feature in next year’s flagship Android smartphones.
In addition, Huawei has been developing a camera module that utilizes motor control to enable more than two apertures on a single module, Yuanta said, adding that such complex designs would boost Largan’s gross margins.
SETBACK: Apple’s India iPhone push has been disrupted after Foxconn recalled hundreds of Chinese engineers, amid Beijing’s attempts to curb tech transfers Apple Inc assembly partner Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), also known internationally as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), has recalled about 300 Chinese engineers from a factory in India, the latest setback for the iPhone maker’s push to rapidly expand in the country. The extraction of Chinese workers from the factory of Yuzhan Technology (India) Private Ltd, a Hon Hai component unit, in southern Tamil Nadu state, is the second such move in a few months. The company has started flying in Taiwanese engineers to replace staff leaving, people familiar with the matter said, asking not to be named, as the
The prices of gasoline and diesel at domestic fuel stations are to rise NT$0.1 and NT$0.4 per liter this week respectively, after international crude oil prices rose last week, CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) announced yesterday. Effective today, gasoline prices at CPC and Formosa stations are to rise to NT$27.3, NT$28.8 and NT$30.8 per liter for 92, 95 and 98-octane unleaded gasoline respectively, the companies said in separate statements. The price of premium diesel is to rise to NT$26.2 per liter at CPC stations and NT$26 at Formosa pumps, they said. The announcements came after international crude oil prices
SinoPac Financial Holdings Co (永豐金控) is weighing whether to add a life insurance business to its portfolio, but would tread cautiously after completing three acquisitions in quick succession, president Stanley Chu (朱士廷) said yesterday. “We are carefully considering whether life insurance should play a role in SinoPac’s business map,” Chu told reporters ahead of an earnings conference. “Our priority is to ensure the success of the deals we have already made, even though we are tracking some possible targets.” Local media have reported that Mercuries Life Insurance Co (三商美邦人壽), which is seeking buyers amid financial strains, has invited three financial
CAUTION: Right now, artificial intelligence runs on faith, not productivity and eventually, the risk of a bubble will emerge,’ TIER economist Gordon Sun said Taiwanese manufacturers turned more optimistic last month, ending a five-month streak of declining sentiment as concerns over US tariffs, currency volatility and China’s overcapacity began to ease, the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research (TIER) said yesterday. The manufacturing business confidence index rose 1.17 points from June to 86.8, its first rebound since February. TIER economist Gordon Sun (孫明德) attributed the uptick to fading trade uncertainties, a steadier New Taiwan dollar and reduced competitive pressure from Chinese producers. Taiwan’s semiconductor industry is unlikely to face significant damage from Washington’s ongoing probe into semiconductors, given the US’ reliance on Taiwanese chips to power artificial
RSS