Advantech Co (研華), the world’s biggest industrial PC maker, yesterday said that consolidated revenue last month expanded to NT$4.68 billion (US$167.7 million) from a year earlier, bringing cumulative sales in the first fourth months of this year to NT$17.84 billion, up 13.86 percent year-on-year.
Buoyed by strong demand from Chinese basic infrastructure projects, the company’s industrial Internet of things (IIoT) sector remains the biggest growth driver, the company said.
The IIoT sector accounted for 37 percent of first-quarter revenue, growing 54 percent from a year earlier, the company said in an earnings call with investors.
China’s ambitious goal to build “smart factories,” electric vehicles and green energy infrastructure is driving growth for Advantech’s products.
First-quarter sales to China accounted for 26 percent of total revenue, or US$119 million, representing growth of 76 percent from a year earier. Sales to North America and north Asia also posted double-digit percentage growth in the first quarter.
For last month, all of its business groups reported year-on-year growth, with the exception of the Applied Computing Group, which posted a “single-digit percentage year-on-year decline,” Adata said.
Its book-to-bill ratio — the ratio of orders to shipments — reached 1.63 last month, and 1.66 so far this year.
This indicates “strong growth momentum this year,” the company said, as orders outpace shipments.
As with other electronics manufacturers, Advantech has to contend with the issue of component shortages this year.
“Although the supply chain remains tight, with early action and design flexibility, we will strive to minimize the impact of supply-chain issues,” it said.
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