Touch-panel supplier Wintek Corp (勝華) swung into a loss last quarter after its factory utilization rate dropped to as low as 30 percent because of oversupply, the company said in an exchange filing yesterday.
The second-quarter results were disappointing, with Macquarie analyst Kylie Huang (黃奎毓) expecting Wintek to eke out a profit of NT$111 million, or NT$0.07 a share, based on a report dated Aug. 11.
Huang said in the report that her forecast was already lower than her peers’ estimates of earnings of NT$0.20 to NT$0.30 per share.
Wintek reported that net profit for the first half of the year totaled NT$38 million. It posted a net income of NT$348 million in the first quarter, implying a loss of about NT$310 million in the second quarter.
The Taichung-based LCD panel maker expects revenues to expand significantly in the second half of the year on the back of growing demand for its touch panels, it said in the statement.
The company also said factory usage would improve later this year, which would help lower costs and improve profitability.
In the report, Huang expected Wintek revenues to grow by 33 percent this quarter from NT$21.57 billion last quarter, driven by rising shipment of touch panels used in Apple’s iPad2.
Wintek is also expected to begin shipping mid-sized panels to Amazon this month or next, Huang said.
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