Himax Technologies Inc (奇景光電), a fabless supplier of driver ICs for displays and complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) image sensors, yesterday reported stronger-than-expected gross margins and net profit for last quarter.
The NASDAQ-listed company reported earnings per American depositary share of US$0.019, beating its February forecast of a loss of US$0.005 to US$0.018, it said in a statement.
That is the second straight quarter that Himax posted a profit.
Gross margin climbed 2.1 percentage points — better than its forecast of 1 to 2 percentage points — to 22.7 percent last quarter, from 20.6 percent in the fourth quarter last year, the statement showed.
“The company has decided to publish financial results for the January-to-March quarter immediately after it concluded due to the current volatility across global markets as COVID-19 continues to spread,” Himax chief executive Jordan Wu (吳炳昌) said in the statement.
“Himax will continue to work closely with clients and suppliers to lower the pressure that the pandemic might exert on the company’s performance,” Wu said, adding that it has taken strict precautionary measures to ensure the health and safety of employees and business partners.
The company is to publish its complete financial statements and business outlook next month.
First-quarter revenue increased 5.5 percent sequentially to US$184.6 million, in line with its forecast of an increase of 1 to 10 percent.
That was also a better-than-expected seasonal performance, as revenue usually declines by 10 percent during the off-season, it said.
Himax in February said that first-quarter revenue from small-sized display driver ICs for mobile phones and vehicles would grow between 10 and 20 percent sequentially due to market share gains.
That was despite some downward adjustments from customers, mainly from certain China-based clients making small-sized display drivers and CMOS image sensors as they were still scrambling to restore operations, the company said.
Small-sized display driver ICs for smartphones and automobile displays accounted for 45 percent of the company’s total revenue last year.
Additional reporting by Lisa Wang
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