TPK Holding Co Ltd (宸鴻), which supplies touch modules for Apple Inc, yesterday reported faster-than-expected quarterly growth in revenue of 81 percent for last quarter after the launch of the lower-cost iPhone XR.
The growth rate beat TPK’s expectation of 70 percent.
In the quarter ended Sept. 30, revenue rose to NT$32.19 billion (US$1.05 billion), compared with NT$17.8 billion in the second quarter.
Last quarter’s figure represented an annual growth of 5.5 percent from NT$30.51 billion, a company statement showed.
“The second quarter will be the trough for this year,” TPK chief strategist Freddie Liu (劉詩亮) told a teleconference on July 26.
“We expect [monthly] revenue to stage a significant rebound from July and August,” Liu said.
Revenue last month edged 2.25 percent lower to NT$11.31 billion from NT$11.57 billion in August, the statement showed.
“Third-quarter revenue will grow more than 70 percent from the second quarter based on past records,” it said.
The iPhone XR, with a lower-resolution 6.1-inch LCD screen, is expected to go on sale later this month after premium models, the iPhone XS and iPhone SX Max, hit the market last month.
Market researcher TrendForce Corp (集邦科技) forecast the entry-level iPhone XR would account for half of sales of the three models, given its lower price tag.
TPK estimated its operating margin would improve to between 1 percent and 2 percent in the July-to-September period from minus-5 percent in the previous quarter, Liu told investors in July.
That would mean a contraction from a 4.4 percent operating margin in the third quarter last year, due to stiff price competition.
General Interface Solution Holding Ltd (業成控股), which competes with TPK to supply touch modules for the iPhone XR, has not yet released its sales result for last month and last quarter.
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