Pegatron Corp (和碩) yesterday said that it expects increased demand for consumer electronics products would continue throughout this year, after the company posted a five-year high earnings per share for last year.
“Demand for consumer electronics will accelerate,” Pegatron chief executive officer Liao Syh-jang (廖賜政) told an investors’ conference in Taipei. “We can expect people to upgrade their handsets and new technologies to blossom in the automotive electronics sector.”
However, Pegatron is cautious about component shortages, Liao said.
Photo: Vanessa Cho, Taipei Times
“The unpredictable supply of components is the only factor that is beyond our control,” he said.
Pegatron has long invested in automotive electronic control system products, which Liao predicted would become a major source of revenue, in addition to electric bicycles, electric scooters and distance medical care.
The company said that it started supplying to Tesla Inc in January, and has established relations with other global automakers.
The long product life cycle of vehicles makes the sector a stable business opportunity for Pegatron, Liao said.
“Conventional cars have a life cycle of eight to 10 years, while electric vehicles have a life cycle of five to six years. Customers don’t tend to change suppliers during that time,” he said.
Asked why Pegatron has decided to set up a factory in North America, Liao said that being close to its customers is the main reason.
The company posted earnings per share of NT$7.73 for last year, up from NT$7.40 in 2019.
It is proposing distributing a cash dividend of NT$4.5 per share, representing a dividend yield of 5.94 percent based on its closing share price of NT$75.7 yesterday, it said.
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