Audio electronics maker Merry Electronics Co (美律) expects earnings to begin improving next quarter as it taps into the growing popularity of “true wireless” earbuds and other higher-tier product segments.
The company on Wednesday said in an earnings teleconference that it expects to see continued growth in shipments of gaming and noise-canceling headphones, true wireless earbuds and smartphone speakers this quarter, after ending the final quarter of last year with record-high revenue of NT$13.39 billion (US$435.1 million).
Revenue would have been higher, but there was pressure from component shortages, delayed deliveries and lukewarm smartphone sales, it said.
This year, the company said that it aims to weather the first-quarter slow season and end the period in the black with much better profitability after recording a net loss of NT$632 million a year earlier.
Gross margin, which fell to 9.3 percent at the end of March last year, had climbed to 9.67 percent, 15.7 percent and 14.5 percent respectively in the subsequent three quarters, company data showed.
Merry Electronics would be more selective of brands in the true wireless market and focus on securing orders from the high-end segment as opposed to pursuing the best prices, company spokesman Allen Huang (黃朝豊).
After acquiring a majority stake in Austar Hearing Science and Technology (Xiamen) Co Ltd (歐仕達聽力科技廈門), Merry Electronics is doubling down on the hearing aid market, as it on Tuesday announced that it would take a 94.2 percent stake in Biotest Medical Corp (衡欣醫材), a Taichung-based manufacturer.
Bouncing off a low basis set last year, shipments could rise 80 percent annually and lead to a 72 percent annual rise in revenue this quarter, Merry Electronics said.
Meanwhile, the profitability of its Chinese operations, a major factor affecting its bottom line, is expected to improve throughout this year as their scale expands, the company said, adding that it booked NT$323 million in gains from operations in Huizhou, Suzhou and Dongguan in the final quarter of last year.
The company reported that net income last year dropped 43 percent annually to NT$2.06 billion, while revenue rose 33 percent to NT$35.5 billion.
Gross margin fell 4.16 percentage points to 13.31 percent, with operating margin falling 3.15 percentage points to 6.39 percent.
Stephen Garrett, a 27-year-old graduate student, always thought he would study in China, but first the country’s restrictive COVID-19 policies made it nearly impossible and now he has other concerns. The cost is one deterrent, but Garrett is more worried about restrictions on academic freedom and the personal risk of being stranded in China. He is not alone. Only about 700 American students are studying at Chinese universities, down from a peak of nearly 25,000 a decade ago, while there are nearly 300,000 Chinese students at US schools. Some young Americans are discouraged from investing their time in China by what they see
MAJOR DROP: CEO Tim Cook, who is visiting Hanoi, pledged the firm was committed to Vietnam after its smartphone shipments declined 9.6% annually in the first quarter Apple Inc yesterday said it would increase spending on suppliers in Vietnam, a key production hub, as CEO Tim Cook arrived in the country for a two-day visit. The iPhone maker announced the news in a statement on its Web site, but gave no details of how much it would spend or where the money would go. Cook is expected to meet programmers, content creators and students during his visit, online newspaper VnExpress reported. The visit comes as US President Joe Biden’s administration seeks to ramp up Vietnam’s role in the global tech supply chain to reduce the US’ dependence on China. Images on
New apartments in Taiwan’s major cities are getting smaller, while old apartments are increasingly occupied by older people, many of whom live alone, government data showed. The phenomenon has to do with sharpening unaffordable property prices and an aging population, property brokers said. Apartments with one bedroom that are two years old or older have gained a noticeable presence in the nation’s six special municipalities as well as Hsinchu county and city in the past five years, Evertrust Rehouse Co (永慶房產集團) found, citing data from the government’s real-price transaction platform. In Taipei, apartments with one bedroom accounted for 19 percent of deals last
US CONSCULTANT: The US Department of Commerce’s Ursula Burns is a rarely seen US government consultant to be put forward to sit on the board, nominated as an independent director Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday nominated 10 candidates for its new board of directors, including Ursula Burns from the US Department of Commerce. It is rare that TSMC has nominated a US government consultant to sit on its board. Burns was nominated as one of seven independent directors. She is vice chair of the department’s Advisory Council on Supply Chain Competitiveness. Burns is to stand for election at TSMC’s annual shareholders’ meeting on June 4 along with the rest of the candidates. TSMC chairman Mark Liu (劉德音) was not on the list after in December last