Largan Precision Co (大立光), the nation’s leading maker of handset lenses, yesterday posted first-quarter net income of NT$735 million (US$23.4 million), or NT$5.48 per share, on sales of NT$2.23 billion, a company stock exchange filing said.
The first-quarter results compared with a net income of NT$443 million and sales of NT$917 million a year ago. In February, the company posted NT$906 million in profit and NT$2.73 billion in sales for the fourth quarter of last year.
Gross margin rose to 48.54 percent in the first quarter from 44.85 percent in the previous quarter, the company said.
During an online conference call with investors and analysts, the company said it expected this month’s sales to stay at the same level as last month, but added that sales next month and in June would gradually trend up thanks to new handset models being launched by its clients.
Largan maintained a conservative outlook on second-quarter gross margin, however, as the company said it was increasing the assembly of voice coil motor (VCM) auto-focus lenses this quarter, which it expects to affect profitability because of the higher costs involved, despite the improvement in the quality of the image.
The company plans to start meaningful in-house production of VCM lenses next year, rather than purchasing VCMs from outside makers and then assembling them with its own lenses.
Largan said it expected an increase in shipments of five-megapixel lenses in the second half of the year, in addition to its mainstay three-megapixel lenses.
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