Largan Precision Co (大立光) chief executive Adam Lin (林恩平) yesterday told investors he was upbeat for this quarter, even though the leading handset lens supplier posted disappointing earnings last quarter.
Lin did not provide sales guidance for this quarter, saying only that from orders the company has received so far the outlook for the third quarter looks optimistic.
“Order intakes have been on schedule with visibility to September,” Lin said.
REVENUE
Consolidated revenue was NT$1.18 billion (US$39.43 million) last month, up 20.57 percent from NT$977 million in June, but down 14.75 percent from NT$1.38 billion a year ago.
Lin said revenue this month would be higher than last month, without elaborating.
Largan’s net income last quarter was NT$665.05 million, down 24.63 percent from the first quarter and 39.55 percent less than the NT$1.1 billion the year before.
Earnings per share (EPS) was NT$4.96 last quarter, compared with NT$6.58 in the first quarter and NT$8.18 at the same period of last year.
Net income for the first six months of this year was NT$1.55 billion, down 32 percent from NT$2.29 billion a year ago.
EPS was NT$11.54 in the period, compared to NT$17.09 a year ago.
Largan said its gross margin reached a historical low of 37.15 percent last quarter, down 1.35 percentage points from 38.5 percent in the first quarter and compared with 45.2 percent one year ago.
Lin attributed the decline in gross margin to change of product mix, lower yield rate, output and prices.
Last quarter’s revenue dropped 7.14 percent quarter-on-quarter and 18 percent year-on-year to NT$3.38 billion, with sales of 5-megapixel lenses accounting for 20 percent to 30 percent, sales of 8-megapixel lenses accounting for 30 percent to 40 percent, and others accounting for single-digit percent, according to Largan data.
TRENDS
Lin said it looked like the trend was going toward high-definition lenses, with 8-megapixel lenses being the mainstream. Ten megapixel lenses were scarce in the first six months and it’s hard to say when they would become popular, he added.
He said the company would strive to stay competitive by meeting customers’ demand for specifications, such as sharpness, contrast, uniformity and thinness, which is becoming more challenging.
“Largan will focus on smartphones in the short term and developing new customers in China,” Lin said, adding that the China market looked very positive to the company.
This story has been updated since it was first published.
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