Apple Inc swapped out Osram Licht AG from a list of its biggest suppliers and added Royal Philips NV, part of a supply chain reshuffle ahead of the release of the iPhone 7.
The revision to the catalog of Apple’s top 200 parts providers is a boon to Philips while it searches for a new buyer for its LED unit. It is also a blow to the Munich-based Osram, which is investing 1 billion euros (US$1.4 billion) in a plant that builds semiconductors used to make LEDs.
LEDs are used not only in the flash for iPhone cameras, but also in infra-red sensors that detect a phone’s position against a user’s face and allow the Apple Watch to measure the wearer’s pulse. While Apple publishes a list of its top suppliers, it does not specify which component comes from each company.
Osram and Philips declined to comment on the list, which Apple published on Thursday. Bloomberg compared the companies that were new or dropped off. It does not include all of Apple’s suppliers and some companies that are no longer in the top 200 may still be suppliers to Apple.
Apple released a smaller version of its iPhone last month, the “SE.” Since the Cupertino, California-based company will likely sell fewer of the handset than its larger cousins, the 6S and 6S Plus, the model presented an opportunity for Apple to try out new suppliers to evaluate their effectiveness ahead of the iPhone 7’s introduction later this year, according to Cowen & Co analyst Tim Arcuri.
Apple often sources similar components from a range of suppliers, which can help it secure lower prices. Chief executive officer Tim Cook is an expert in supply chain management, and served as chief operating officer for six years before his current role.
Power management equipment-maker Eaton Corp and LCD component supplier Seiko Epson Corp rank among the other companies to fall out of the top 200 this year. Computer makers Wistron Corp (緯創) and Compal Electronics Inc (仁寶) jumped in. LED maker Nichia Corp retained its spot on the list of suppliers.
The high-profile Apple contract may help Philips boost the price for the Lumileds unit it is trying to sell. The Amsterdam-based company was forced to scrap the planned US$2.8 billion sale of the unit, which makes LED chips and automotive lights, to a consortium led by China’s GO Scale Capital Ltd in January because of opposition from a US regulator charged with vetting foreign acquisitions to protect national security.
It is now targeting a deal for the second half of this year.
Meanwhile, Osram is divesting its traditional lighting business to focus on LEDs.
Chief executive officer Olaf Berlien wants to secure lucrative technology customers akin to Apple to reduce its dependence on the automotive lighting industry, where it is the leader by market share.
He is expanding a plant in Malaysia that builds semiconductor chips, a move that he has said will reduce manufacturing costs. Analysts have criticized the expansion for increasing Osram’s exposure to less profitable end markets.
Merida Industry Co (美利達) has seen signs of recovery in the US and European markets this year, as customers are gradually depleting their inventories, the bicycle maker told shareholders yesterday. Given robust growth in new orders at its Taiwanese factory, coupled with its subsidiaries’ improving performance, Merida said it remains confident about the bicycle market’s prospects and expects steady growth in its core business this year. CAUTION ON CHINA However, the company must handle the Chinese market with great caution, as sales of road bikes there have declined significantly, affecting its revenue and profitability, Merida said in a statement, adding that it would
Greek tourism student Katerina quit within a month of starting work at a five-star hotel in Halkidiki, one of the country’s top destinations, because she said conditions were so dire. Beyond the bad pay, the 22-year-old said that her working and living conditions were “miserable and unacceptable.” Millions holiday in Greece every year, but its vital tourism industry is finding it harder and harder to recruit Greeks to look after them. “I was asked to work in any department of the hotel where there was a need, from service to cleaning,” said Katerina, a tourism and marketing student, who would
i Gasoline and diesel prices at fuel stations are this week to rise NT$0.1 per liter, as tensions in the Middle East pushed crude oil prices higher last week, CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) said yesterday. International crude oil prices last week rose for the third consecutive week due to an escalating conflict between Israel and Iran, as the market is concerned that the situation in the Middle East might affect crude oil supply, CPC and Formosa said in separate statements. Front-month Brent crude oil futures — the international oil benchmark — rose 3.75 percent to settle at US$77.01
RISING: Strong exports, and life insurance companies’ efforts to manage currency risks indicates the NT dollar would eventually pass the 29 level, an expert said The New Taiwan dollar yesterday rallied to its strongest in three years amid inflows to the nation’s stock market and broad-based weakness in the US dollar. Exporter sales of the US currency and a repatriation of funds from local asset managers also played a role, said two traders, who asked not to be identified as they were not authorized to speak publicly. State-owned banks were seen buying the greenback yesterday, but only at a moderate scale, the traders said. The local currency gained 0.77 percent, outperforming almost all of its Asian peers, to close at NT$29.165 per US dollar in Taipei trading yesterday. The
RSS