General Interface Solution Holding Ltd (GIS, 業成), a supplier of touch modules for Apple Inc’s iPhones and iPads, posted net profit for last year that was nearly halved from a year earlier as lower-margin touch modules used in entry-level devices dragged down profitability.
Net profit last year plunged to NT$3.98 billion (US$129 million), compared with NT$6.95 billion in 2017, the company said in a financial statement submitted to the Taiwan Stock Exchange on Tuesday night.
Earnings per share dipped from NT$21.46 to NT$11.77, while gross margin shrank from 11.53 percent to 8.59 percent, it said.
In the fourth quarter of last year, GIS saw net profit sink almost 18 percent annually from about NT$2 billion to NT$1.64 billion.
Apple is the biggest client of GIS, a touch sensor and touch module manufacturing arm of iPhone assembler Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密).
The US tech giant last year contributed more than 85 percent of GIS’ total revenue of NT$128.44 billion.
GIS’ board of directors on Tuesday approved a cash dividend of NT$4 per common share. That implied an about 3.48 percent dividend yield based on the stock’s closing price of NT$115 yesterday, when GIS rose 2.68 percent.
The cash dividend distribution plan is subject to the approval of shareholders at an annual meeting scheduled for May 29.
GIS yesterday said that the first quarter is usually a slow season, as its top client enters inventory digestion.
Revenue usually slumps 40 to 50 percent quarterly in the first quarter, company data showed.
This year is likely to follow that “historical pattern,” despite the firm securing new orders to supply under-display fingerprint touch modules for the world’s top first-tier smartphone maker, a company official, who requested anonymity, said by telephone.
GIS posted NT$8.71 billion in revenue for last month, sliding 14.77 percent from NT$10.22 billion in January, for a combined total of NT$18.93 billion in the first two months of this year.
GIS is reportedly to be the main supplier to Samsung Electronics Co for its ultrasonic under-display touch module used in Galaxy S 10 series.
China’s O-film Tech Co (歐菲光) is reportedly to share a smaller allotment of Apple orders.
The company official confirmed the order gains, but declined to comment on the client’s name.
Credit Suisse Group AG forecast that under-display fingerprint shipments would soar to 175 million units this year, compared with 30 million units last year, with 135 million utilizing optical sensing technology and 50 million using ultrasonic sensing technology.
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