G-Tech Optoelectronics Corp (正達國際), which supplies cover glass used in touch displays for Apple’s iPad tablet series, yesterday said revenue would grow by a double-digit percentage this quarter, driven by customer demand for laptops running the new Windows 8 operating system and by associated demand for G-Tech’s new coating glass.
G-Tech, based in Miaoli County, made NT$2.35 billion (US$80.3 million) in revenue last quarter, up 26 percent from the second quarter, with 45 percent of its revenue generating from cover glass.
Despite recent reports about a less-than-vigorous uptake of computers running Windows 8, G-Tech spokesman Tony Chiu (邱火生) said “customer demand still looks OK so far.”
Robust demand pushed the company’s revenue to a historic high again last month at NT$1.36 billion, after a record-breaking September.
As customers usually place orders one month, or one-and-half months ahead of their product launch time, end demand for Windows 8 computers is still unclear, Chiu said.
“We will monitor the sell-through of those products during the Christmas holidays,” he said.
G-Tech is 42 percent owned by the Hon Hai Group (鴻海集團), which has Apple products assembler Hon Hai Precision Industry Co Ltd (鴻海精密) as its flagship company.
This quarter, Chiu said G-Tech’s new coating glass would be another growth driver as the company’s major customer is scheduled to launch a new product by the end of the year.
The coating-glass business skyrocketed last quarter to make up 41 percent of the company’s revenue, compared with 8 percent in the second quarter, thanks to a new product launched by its biggest customer.
In general, “the fourth quarter will be a better period than the third quarter,” Chiu said.
The company’s factories are 90 percent utilized at the moment, after an unspecified period of supply constraint, he said.
G-Tech plans to keep capital spending little changed next year, compared with this year’s level of between NT$3.5 billion and NT$4 billion, Chiu said, citing concern that a weak global economy could still suppress consumer electronics spending.
G-Tech shares fell 1.03 percent yesterday to NT$76.5, performing worse than the TAIEX, which lost 0.19 percent.
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