Aten International Co Ltd (宏正自動科技), which provides information technology infrastructure solutions, yesterday provided a cautiously optimistic outlook for this quarter, despite a 57 percent year-on-year drop in net profit last quarter to NT$181.44 million (US$5.95 million).
“We have developed and launched our greatest range of products this year, more than 80 [solutions],” Aten chief financial officer Alex Chen (陳健南) told investors at an online conference, adding that the firm hopes its extensive portfolio will attract significant orders.
In the first 10 months of this year, higher tariffs due to a US-China trade dispute weighed on the firm’s sales in the US, which fell NT$77 million, or 6.6 percent, from a year earlier, although sales in Japan rose by NT$65 million and in India by NT$13 million, Chen said.
Asia remains the biggest contributor to Aten’s revenue at 47 percent of the total in the first 10 months after growing 0.5 percent year-on-year to NT$1.96 billion.
“Since the US-China trade spat started last year, our [US] clients have stocked up inventories in fear of the worst,” he said, adding that the firm would post flat sales growth in the US this quarter from NT$1.29 billion last quarter.
Gross margin last quarter improved to a three-year high of 61.3 percent thanks to price adjustments, an ameliorated product mix and lower management expenses, Aten said.
However, net profit fell due to a high comparison base a year earlier, when the company booked an asset disposal gain from the sale of shares in server management specialist Aspeed Technology Inc (信驊), Chen said.
Earnings per share fell NT$3.49 annually to NT$1.52, company data showed.
The company this quarter aims to match record-high revenue of NT$1.42 billion a year earlier, Chen said.
Revenue in the second half of this year is expected to contribute up to 53 percent of annual revenue, he said.
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