Pegatron Corp (和碩), one of Apple Inc’s iPhone assemblers, is working with German luxury automaker Audi AG on developing smart car applications, company chairman Tung Tsu-hsien (童子賢) said yesterday.
The partnership with Audi is the latest move made by the company to build a greater presence in the Internet of Things market, which will take time to grow, Tung said.
“Revenues generated from Pegatron’s smart car business this year will be 10 times more than last year’s, thanks to the Audi partnership and similar cooperation with Japanese automakers,” Tung told reporters on the sidelines of the Smart City Mayor’s Summit in Taipei.
Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times
Yuanta Securities and Investment Consulting Co (元大證券) said that although Pegatron has been tight-lipped about the details of the project with Audi, it is likely working on in-car entertainment systems given its experience in assembling hardwares, such as tablet computers.
“Pegatron’s smart car business accounted for less than 5 percent of its total revenue last year, but the partnership with Audi should boost the company’s sales in this segment this year,” a Yuanta analyst, who declined to be named, said by telephone.
Separately, at a forum held by Deutsche Bank last week, Pegatron said it believed that its customer base for smartphones, notebook computers, tablet computers and game consoles this year should be similar to that of last year.
“Pegatron’s ongoing improvement in operating efficiency, order gains from brand clients and automation investment should support its margins and earnings growth this year,” Deutsche Bank research analyst Andrew Chang (張家福) said in a client note released on Thursday last week.
Chang said Pegatron’s net income should grow faster than its revenue this year due to improved operations, citing a high utilization rate of more than 70 to 80 percent and steady manpower.
Chang quoted Pegatron’s management as saying that the company expects its iPhone and iPad assembly business to grow 2.5 percent in the next three to five years.
Pegatron shares closed at NT$81 in Taipei trading yesterday, up 5.06 percent from a day earlier, outperforming the TAIEX, which edged up 0.85 percent.
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