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Premier says digital sales to up profit

Premier Image Technology Corp (普立爾), the world's biggest maker of compact cameras, said it expects digital cameras to help it exceed 2001 profit growth as sales rise by at least a quarter.

The company, which said first-quarter sales rose by more than a fifth, expects profit to increase by about 25 percent this year, said Vice President of Finance Jack Hsieh in a telephone interview.

Premier expects digital camera sales to increase to half of total revenue this year from about 30 percent in 2001, Hsieh said.

More people are buying digital cameras to send photos on the Internet, helping companies such as Japan's Canon Inc and Premier. Canon said earlier digital cameras more than doubled last year.

Premier "is one of the earliest in Taiwan to make cameras," said Roger Chiao, who helps manage NT$6 billion at Capital Securities Investment Trust Co (群益證券投信), including Premier shares. "Its orders, from Japanese companies for instance, have been pretty stable."

Premier estimates sales rose about 17 percent in 2001, while net income growth was similar, Hsieh said, declining to give actual numbers before Premier announces audited figures. In 2000, profit rose 29 percent to NT$886 million (US$25 million) as sales jumped 25 percent to NT$9.62 billion from the year-earlier.

Meanwhile, Premier may spend about NT$1.1 billion mostly on new equipment this year, after it used up about NT$1.7 billion on capital spending last year, Hsieh said.

Premier receives about 35 percent of its orders from Europe, while North America and Asia account for about 30 percent each, said Hsieh, who declined to identify customers.

Still, investors expect more good news than bad out of the company with the increasing use of digital images in mobile phones, notebook computers and other electronics products.

"It's a trendy stock," said Chiao, who may buy more shares of Premier in the second half when profit growth traditionally is stronger because of sales leading up to the Christmas season.

In January Premier scrapped plans to buy cameramaker Tekom Technologies Inc for NT$3.2 billion (US$91 million), citing "changes in the international competitive environment," the company then said without elaborating.
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