Simplo Technology Co (新普科技), which supplies battery packs for Apple Inc’s iPhones, yesterday reported that its sales last month rose to NT$4.51 billion (US$148.93 million) on higher orders.
The figure is a 45.17 percent increase month-on-month and 26.1 percent growth year-on-year.
Total sales during the first quarter of the year were NT$12.13 billion, beating the company’s estimate of between NT$11.8 billion and NT$12 billion, chief financial officer Jackie Ting (丁惠敏) said by telephone yesterday.
“New orders for various kinds of battery pack products supported our sales to achieve the robust growth last month,” Ting said.
Simplo’s first-quarter sales slid by 29.53 percent from the previous quarter due to seasonal factors.
“The result was largely in line with the company’s forecast,” she said.
Annually, first-quarter sales grew 5.47 percent from NT$11.5 billion last year, according to a company filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange.
Simplo forecast that its sales this quarter would mark 10 percent growth to about NT$13.34 billion from last quarter, as major clients are set to initiate new product cycles, Ting said.
Simplo also supplies battery packs to PC brands such as China’s Lenovo Group Ltd (聯想), and Hewlett-Packard Co and Dell Inc of the US.
Daiwa Capital Markets analyst Steven Tseng (曾緒良) said Simplo’s sales would increase to between NT$13 billion and NT$13.5 billion this quarter mainly because many PC brands are set to launch new products this or next quarter.
“Simplo should be able to see an uptrend in its sales, beginning this quarter,” which is traditionally the low season for the PC and mobile device sectors, Tseng said by telephone.
With Apple rumored to debut its next iPhone next quarter, Simplo is likely to receive new orders this quarter, with a better sales outlook in the quarters ahead, he said.
In contrast, Yuanta Securities Corp (元大證券) analyst Dennis Chan (詹宗勳) said the company may not gain as many Apple orders as before, because of increasing competition from Chinese rivals.
“China’s Desay Battery Co Ltd (德賽) and Sunwod Electronics Co Ltd (欣旺達) are quickly catching up with Simplo,” Chan said. “While Simplo remains dominant in the battery pack market, the company should remain cautious, as it may lose some orders to its rivals as the competition intensifies.”
Simplo shares closed 0.69 percent lower at NT$146 yesterday in Taipei trading, while the GRETAI rose 0.26 percent.
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