Electronic components supplier Lite-On Technology Corp (光寶科技) yesterday reported that net profit last quarter fell 4 percent year-on-year to NT$2.99 billion (US$103.37 million), from NT$3.11 billion in the same period last year.
That translated into earnings per share (EPS) of NT$1.29, down from NT$1.34 a year earlier. On a quarterly basis, net profit contracted 13 percent from NT$3.45 billion, or EPS of NT$1.48, in the second quarter.
Gross margin increased to 19 percent from 16.2 percent in the third quarter last year, which was a decline from 19.4 percent in the second quarter.
Photo: Chen Rou-chen, Taipei Times
Operating profit for the third quarter grew 23 percent year-on-year to NT$3.99 billion from NT$3.35 billion, as the company recognized a substantial asset impairment loss.
‘NO IMPACT’
“In surveying the current state and likely future trends of the global CD-ROM reader industry, we have decided to recognize a goodwill impairment of about NT$700 million,” the company said in its revenue statement.
The impairment would have “no impact” on cash flow or revenue, the statement added.
Lite-On president Anson Chiu (邱森彬) said that he sees the work-from-home trend continuing through the first half of next year.
“As long as COVID-19 is still around, the demand [for work-from-home equipment] would still be around,” Chiu said, adding that “we will continue to see double-digit percentage growth in revenue from laptop-related products in the fourth quarter on a year-on-year basis.”
‘GOOD NEWS’
He is also optimistic that Lite-On’s automotive and 5G-related product categories would see positive movement next year.
Chiu also said there would be “good news” for the company’s 5G base stations in the first quarter next year.
Lite-On’s automotive products would also start contributing more seriously to revenue, he added.
“As Lite-On sheds underperforming departments, we expect gross margin and operating profit margin to keep improving in the fourth quarter on a year-on-year basis,” Chiu said.
Third-quarter revenue fell 14 percent to NT$41.33 billion from NT$48.16 billion in the third quarter last year.
Cumulative net profit for the first three quarters was NT$8.01 billion, a 15 percent increase year-on-year.
EPS for that period were NT$3.45, up from NT$3 from a year earlier.
SETBACK: Apple’s India iPhone push has been disrupted after Foxconn recalled hundreds of Chinese engineers, amid Beijing’s attempts to curb tech transfers Apple Inc assembly partner Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), also known internationally as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), has recalled about 300 Chinese engineers from a factory in India, the latest setback for the iPhone maker’s push to rapidly expand in the country. The extraction of Chinese workers from the factory of Yuzhan Technology (India) Private Ltd, a Hon Hai component unit, in southern Tamil Nadu state, is the second such move in a few months. The company has started flying in Taiwanese engineers to replace staff leaving, people familiar with the matter said, asking not to be named, as the
The prices of gasoline and diesel at domestic fuel stations are to rise NT$0.1 and NT$0.4 per liter this week respectively, after international crude oil prices rose last week, CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) announced yesterday. Effective today, gasoline prices at CPC and Formosa stations are to rise to NT$27.3, NT$28.8 and NT$30.8 per liter for 92, 95 and 98-octane unleaded gasoline respectively, the companies said in separate statements. The price of premium diesel is to rise to NT$26.2 per liter at CPC stations and NT$26 at Formosa pumps, they said. The announcements came after international crude oil prices
A German company is putting used electric vehicle batteries to new use by stacking them into fridge-size units that homes and businesses can use to store their excess solar and wind energy. This week, the company Voltfang — which means “catching volts” — opened its first industrial site in Aachen, Germany, near the Belgian and Dutch borders. With about 100 staff, Voltfang says it is the biggest facility of its kind in Europe in the budding sector of refurbishing lithium-ion batteries. Its CEO David Oudsandji hopes it would help Europe’s biggest economy ween itself off fossil fuels and increasingly rely on climate-friendly renewables. While
SinoPac Financial Holdings Co (永豐金控) is weighing whether to add a life insurance business to its portfolio, but would tread cautiously after completing three acquisitions in quick succession, president Stanley Chu (朱士廷) said yesterday. “We are carefully considering whether life insurance should play a role in SinoPac’s business map,” Chu told reporters ahead of an earnings conference. “Our priority is to ensure the success of the deals we have already made, even though we are tracking some possible targets.” Local media have reported that Mercuries Life Insurance Co (三商美邦人壽), which is seeking buyers amid financial strains, has invited three financial