Molding components maker Concraft Holding Co (康控) yesterday provided an upbeat outlook for the next quarter thanks to increased new orders.
The company reported net profit of NT$134.98 million (US$4.3 million) for last quarter, an improvement from a loss of NT$156.14 million in the first quarter.
In the first half of this year, the company registered losses of NT$21.16 million, or losses per share of NT$0.17.
“We have had a rough first half of the year ... but things are looking up for us,” Concraft chief financial officer Joe Huang (黃翹生) told investors at a company earnings conference in Taipei yesterday, at which he presented new products for next quarter.
“We have received orders for high-precision components, with mass production to begin next month,” Huang said, adding that the products are tailored to suit clients’ needs.
“Full production capacity has been reached this month, which would continue into the first quarter next year,” Huang said, highlighting the company’s high order visibility, which stretches into the second quarter next year with the launch of five new optical component products.
Gross margin this quarter would fall to between 35 and 40 percent from the same period last year, Huang said.
However, with the new products, the company is looking at a gross margin of more than 40 percent next quarter, he said.
The company aims to boost earnings per share to more than NT$6 by the end of the year, he said.
The company has hired 5,000 people in China in the past month to cope with orders and is still assessing the possibility of recruiting another 700, Huang said.
Concraft is looking to concentrate its production at its Kunshan plant in China, as there are many variables in the products, Huang said, adding that the US-China trade dispute has had a limited effect.
“We make up a low percentage of our clients’ costs ... mid-stream assemblers are more likely to suffer the impact [from the trade spat], but we are nevertheless prepared to relocate if needed,” Huang said.
Concraft has applied to set up a new plant within three months to produce auto parts in Thailand, Huang said, adding that production would start by the end of the first quarter next year.
The company reported revenue of NT$1.22 billion for last quarter and NT$1.81 billion for the first half of the year, down 17.41 percent and 23.83 percent respectively from the year-earlier periods.
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