Touch-panel controller chip manufacturer Elan Microelectronics Corp (義隆電子) yesterday said its revenue reached NT$649.79 million (US$21.62 million) last month, rising on a monthly and yearly basis, thanks to increased shipments of touch-screen driver ICs.
Last month’s figure was up 22.9 percent from NT$528.72 million in February and 20.11 percent from NT$540.98 million in March last year, Elan said in a statement issued after the stock market closed.
In the three months ending on March 31, Elan’s consolidated revenue expanded 21.43 percent to NT$1.87 billion compared with the year before, the company said.
However, the figure was down 2.16 percent compared with the previous quarter, it said.
Last month’s sales breakdown showed that 64 percent of revenue came from touch controller-related products (34 percent touchscreen ICs and 30 percent touchpad modules) that are used in smartphones, Google Inc’s Android and Microsoft Corp’s Windows 8 tablets, and Windows 8 notebooks and ultrabooks, Elan said.
“With more big notebook brands and models receiving the Windows 8 touch logo certification, Elan’s touchscreen ICs shipments posted double-digit percentage growth in the first quarter compared with the previous quarter,” the firm said.
Elan did not provide sales guidance for this quarter, but said its touchscreen ICs are being integrated into Windows 8 notebooks and Ultrabooks released by the world’s top 10 notebook brands, and that its products remain competitive.
Elan last week sued Taiwan’s Egalax Empia Technology Inc (禾瑞亞科技) for infringing on its capacitive touch technology patent. This follows a lawsuit Elan filed against China-based Pixcir Microelectronics Co (瀚瑞微電子) last month for infringing a similar patent.
Elan’s first-quarter results were higher than the NT$1.82 billion estimated by Deutsche Bank analyst Jessica Chang (張幸宜), who forecast that this quarter’s sales would increase by 20 percent to NT$2.19 billion due to rising Windows 8-related sales.
BYPASSING CHINA TARIFFS: In the first five months of this year, Foxconn sent US$4.4bn of iPhones to the US from India, compared with US$3.7bn in the whole of last year Nearly all the iPhones exported by Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團) from India went to the US between March and last month, customs data showed, far above last year’s average of 50 percent and a clear sign of Apple Inc’s efforts to bypass high US tariffs imposed on China. The numbers, being reported by Reuters for the first time, show that Apple has realigned its India exports to almost exclusively serve the US market, when previously the devices were more widely distributed to nations including the Netherlands and the Czech Republic. During March to last month, Foxconn, known as Hon Hai Precision Industry
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and the University of Tokyo (UTokyo) yesterday announced the launch of the TSMC-UTokyo Lab to promote advanced semiconductor research, education and talent development. The lab is TSMC’s first laboratory collaboration with a university outside Taiwan, the company said in a statement. The lab would leverage “the extensive knowledge, experience, and creativity” of both institutions, the company said. It is located in the Asano Section of UTokyo’s Hongo, Tokyo, campus and would be managed by UTokyo faculty, guided by directors from UTokyo and TSMC, the company said. TSMC began working with UTokyo in 2019, resulting in 21 research projects,
Ashton Hall’s morning routine involves dunking his head in iced Saratoga Spring Water. For the company that sells the bottled water — Hall’s brand of choice for drinking, brushing his teeth and submerging himself — that is fantastic news. “We’re so thankful to this incredible fitness influencer called Ashton Hall,” Saratoga owner Primo Brands Corp’s CEO Robbert Rietbroek said on an earnings call after Hall’s morning routine video went viral. “He really helped put our brand on the map.” Primo Brands, which was not affiliated with Hall when he made his video, is among the increasing number of companies benefiting from influencer
Quanta Computer Inc (廣達) chairman Barry Lam (林百里) yesterday expressed a downbeat view about the prospects of humanoid robots, given high manufacturing costs and a lack of target customers. Despite rising demand and high expectations for humanoid robots, high research-and-development costs and uncertain profitability remain major concerns, Lam told reporters following the company’s annual shareholders’ meeting in Taoyuan. “Since it seems a bit unworthy to use such high-cost robots to do household chores, I believe robots designed for specific purposes would be more valuable and present a better business opportunity,” Lam said Instead of investing in humanoid robots, Quanta has opted to invest
RSS