Audio electronics maker Merry Electronics Co (美律) has reported that net profit for the final quarter of last year hit a record high, lifting its whole-year profit to the highest level in the company’s history.
Net income for the October-to-December quarter reached NT$2.15 billion (US$73.4 million), up 160 percent from a year earlier and 249 percent from the previous quarter, the company said in a filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange last week.
Apart from higher product shipments, profits were also boosted by disposal gains of shares in molding components maker Concraft Holding Co Ltd (康控), it said.
Earnings per share were NT$10.71 last quarter, compared with NT$3.68 a year earlier and NT$3.07 the previous quarter, Merry said.
Revenue for last quarter also hit a record high of NT$10.311 billion, as the company benefited from rising orders for mobile phone accessories, such as headsets and speaker products, for major brands.
That brought Merry’s total revenue for last year to NT$26.679 billion, up 57.5 percent annually.
Total net income increased 80.11 percent to NT$3.622 billion, with earnings of NT$18.94 per share.
However, gross margin last year fell from 19.87 percent the previous year to 17.47 percent and operating margin fell from 9.76 to 9.64 percent.
Merry supplies entertainment headsets, handset speakers, battery packs and hands-free devices to clients such as Apple Inc, Sony Corp, Bose Corp, Logitech Co and Beats Electronics LLC.
The company’s business performance this quarter is expected to be weaker, as the smartphone sector is entering a slow season and disruptions from the Lunar New Year holiday could weigh on sales, analysts said.
“Looking forward to 1Q, we expect the quarter-on-quarter decrease of iPhone shipments to weigh on the shipment momentum of speaker boxes,” Capital Investment Management Corp (群益投顧) wrote in a recent note.
“As headset and earphone clients already adjusted their inventories before Christmas, coupled with low-season shipments, 1Q revenue is estimated to decrease by 33.19 percent quarter-on-quarter to NT$6.879 billion,” Capital said. “1Q net profit is estimated to plunge by 71.96 percent to NT$639 million or EPS [earnings per share] of NT$3.18.”
Merry shares closed at NT$176.5 in Taipei trading on Friday.
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