Projector and LCD module maker Coretronic Corp (中強光電) on Tuesday reported that net income last quarter increased substantially from the previous quarter due to non-operating gains.
Net income surged to NT$552 million (US$18.71 million) from NT$5 million in the previous quarter, the company said.
Non-operating gains totaled NT$312 million in the quarter, it said.
Earnings per share came in at NT$1.27, compared with NT$0.01 in the first quarter, it said.
On an operating basis, the company swung into profit of NT$320 million last quarter, compared with an operating loss of NT$189 million in the previous quarter, thanks to improving factory utilization and gross margin, as well as larger revenue.
Coretronics — whose operations cover energy-saving and visual solutions, as well as electronics manufacturing services — said that gross margin last quarter increased to 18.5 percent from 15.8 percent in the previous quarter.
However, the number was down from 19.1 percent a year earlier, mainly due to an unfavorable product mix caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the company said.
Consolidated revenue was NT$10.64 billion, up 27 percent from the previous quarter, but down 6 percent from a year earlier.
Commenting on the company’s energy-saving business, which includes laptops, monitors and TVs, Coretronic president Sarah Lin (林惠姿) said that the segment saw sales increase 32 percent sequentially to NT$5.68 billion last quarter, bolstered by higher shipments.
For this quarter, Lin said that laptop and monitor shipments would likely decrease.
However, mass production of new large-size TV models is expected to drive TV shipments to rise by more than 70 percent sequentially, which would boost revenue growth in the quarter due to higher average selling prices, she said.
“We are seeing a lot of TV orders, as clients want to address low inventory in the second quarter and make preparations for the fourth quarter,” Lin said during a conference call.
As the company’s public information display assembly business would also begin in the third quarter, “it is a way to generate more revenue from our LCD module products,” she said.
Coretronic is in the process of establishing a manufacturing base for backlights and LCDs in Vietnam due to concerns over trade disputes, Lin said.
The Vietnamese subsidiary is in the Saigon Hi-Tech Park in Ho Chi Minh City, which would initially focus on the production of TVs and is expected to begin mass production in the fourth quarter, she said.
“This production will be in addition to our current production capacity in China. However, be it in terms of production capability or supply chain strength, Southeast Asia cannot completely replace China,” she added.
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