Touchpanel suppliers to Apple Inc, TPK Holding Co (宸鴻) and General Interface Solution Holding Ltd (GIS, 業成) yesterday posted more than 30 percent quarterly revenue contractions for last month amid speculation about poor sales of iPhone’s “S” series.
TPK’s revenues shrank 38 percent to NT$7.81 billion (US$233.46 million) last month from NT$12.58 billion the previous month. That brought the company’s fourth quarter revenues to NT$34.44 billion, a 0.6 percent increase from the previous quarter’s NT$34.24 billion.
Dwindling demand dashed TPK’s hopes of seeing revenue increase 5 percent quarter-on-quarter during the final three months of last year.
Apple is TPK’s most important client, accounting for 36 percent of its total revenue in the third quarter of last year.
Capital Investment Management (群益投顧) expects TPK to post a profit of NT$680 million in the final quarter of last year — backed by a fire damage payout of NT$942 million — ending three consecutive quarters of losses.
Early last month, the investment consultancy downgraded its rating on TPK shares to “Neutral” from “Buy” on expectations that the touchpanel maker would continue to struggle in the traditionally slack first quarter, as customers digest inventories.
TPK reported a quarterly loss of NT$19.39 billion for the third quarter, due to massive asset impairments.
TPK and GIS share 3D touchpanel orders for Apple’s iPhone 6 series.
GIS — the sole touchpanel supplier for Apple’s iPad Pro — yesterday posted stronger-than-expected revenues for the whole of last year.
Revenues expanded 23.32 percent year-on-year to NT$93.68 billion, surpassing the firm’s ambitious target of 15 percent annual growth.
The firm’s revenues fell to NT$9.58 billion last month from November’s NT$14.07 billion, according to a separate statement released by GIS.
In the final quarter of last year, GIS saw its revenues soar 38.75 percent to NT$37.51 billion from NT$27.03 billion in the third quarter.
Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), a major assembler of iPhones and iPads, owns a 27 percent stake in GIS, while Innolux Corp (群創), the nation’s largest LCD panelmaker, holds a 14 percent stake.
TPK shares and GIS shares plunged 9.47 percent and 4.74 percent to NT$67.9 and NT$100.5 yesterday in Taipei.
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