Catcher Technology Corp (可成科技) yesterday reported a 13.2 percent annual decline in net income to NT$8.27 billion (US$282.33 million) for last quarter, as foreign exchange losses eroded profitability.
“The annual contraction in net profit was mainly due to a NT$1.4 billion exchange loss last quarter; the firm’s core business remained strong,” Catcher spokesman James Wu (巫俊毅) said by telephone.
BEST QUARTER
October-to-December quarter revenue was the best quarterly result since the company was founded in 1984, showing its strong performance in the smartphone, notebook computer and tablet computer segments, Wu said.
Catcher is Apple Inc’s second-largest iPhone casing supplier.
Accumulated net profit last year totaled NT$21.84 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 0.77 percent because of the combined NT$5.8 billion in foreign exchange losses last year, Catcher said.
Earnings per share were NT$28.35, similar to the NT$28.58 per share for 2016, it said.
The firm’s average gross margin grew 1.52 percentage points annually to 45 percent last year, helped by increased operational efficiency and better cost management, Wu said.
The average operating margin rose 1.05 percentage points to 35.8 percent, company data showed.
Capital expenditure jumped 55 percent annually to NT$13.2 billion last year on planned production expansion, as the company foresees robust growth and clear order visibility for this year, Wu said.
DIVIDEND APPROVED
Catcher’s board of directors approved distribution of a cash dividend of NT$12 per share based on last year’s earnings, which suggested a payout ratio of 42.32 percent and a yield of 3.43 percent based on the shares closing price of NT$349.5 yesterday.
Catcher also released its revenue for last month, NT$5.7 billion, which was a 20.2 percent increase over February last year.
The firm’s accumulated revenue in the first two months of the year soared 44.6 percent year-on-year to NT$13.89 billion, fueled by stronger smartphone and notebook demand compared with the same period last year, the firm said.
LARGAN RESULTS
In related news, Largan Precision Co (大立光), the largest camera lens supplier to Apple’s iPhones, yesterday posted sales of NT$2.21 billion for last month, its lowest amount in the 48 months.
Combined sales plunged 20.14 percent annually to NT$5.73 billion in the first two months of this year, a Largan filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange showed.
WEAK CLIENT DEMAND
“The annual decline in the first two months was due to weaker demand from clients,” a Largan investor relations official said by telephone.
Sales this month are expected to improve from last month’s NT$2.21 billion due to more working days, but demand from clients is still soft, the official said.
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