Handset camera lens maker Genius Electronic Optical Co (玉晶光) yesterday said that it is looking to metaverse-related optical products as a future engine for growth as sales of smartphones are softening.
The company, which counts Apple Inc among its major customers, told an investors’ conference that it has started shipping some lenses for metaverse-related gadgets and that it hopes to start mass production by next year.
“Metaverse-related products will contribute to our revenue growth next year,” Genius Electronic chairman Jones Chen (陳天慶) said.
Photo: David Chang, EPA-EFE
“The exact quantity and specifications will depend on our clients’ needs,” he said.
The fourth quarter of this year and the first quarter of next year are looking to be “stronger than usual,” Chen said, citing the company’s order visibility.
“With the industry migrating toward multi-lenses and larger CMOS sensors, clients’ demand for our products will keep on growing,” he said. “We have to keep up with clients’ latest specifications to increase our market share.”
Metaverse-related products have been a popular theme for investors of late.
Genius Electronic is currently focusing on the virtual reality (VR) segment, while augmented reality (AR) products might follow in three years, company president Lee Kuo (郭英理) said.
“Optical equipment is at the heart of the metaverse. A mid-range VR device will typically require six to eight cameras to detect distance, as well as do eye-tracking,” Kuo said.
Kuo added that he is confident Genius Electronic can fulfill customers’ demand for this challenging new field.
“If they can write the specs, whether it’s for AR or VR, we will rise up to the challenge,” he said.
Kuo sees some economic challenges ahead.
“Inflation is going to come, while COVID-19 will remain with us. What is within our control is to raise our production yield and hopefully increase our gross margin,” he said.
The company reported that net profit decreased 7.26 percent year-on-year to NT$974.75 million (US$35.06 million) in the third quarter, although revenue increased 14.09 percent to NT$5.92 billion.
Earnings per share (EPS) were NT$8.71, down from NT$9.44 a year earlier.
Chen attributed the lower earnings to the New Taiwan dollar’s appreciation and falling prices for its older products.
The company also needs to improve production yields on new products, he added.
Revenue for this quarter and next quarter would depend on client demand, while profit would depend on whether the company could increase its yields, he said.
“It is hard to give an estimate right now,” Chen said.
In the first three quarters of the year, revenue edged up 0.42 percent to NT$11.02 billion, but net profit fell 33.29 percent year-on-year to NT$1.38 billion, or EPS of NT$12.27, company data showed.
SEEKING CLARITY: Washington should not adopt measures that create uncertainties for ‘existing semiconductor investments,’ TSMC said referring to its US$165 billion in the US Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) told the US that any future tariffs on Taiwanese semiconductors could reduce demand for chips and derail its pledge to increase its investment in Arizona. “New import restrictions could jeopardize current US leadership in the competitive technology industry and create uncertainties for many committed semiconductor capital projects in the US, including TSMC Arizona’s significant investment plan in Phoenix,” the chipmaker wrote in a letter to the US Department of Commerce. TSMC issued the warning in response to a solicitation for comments by the department on a possible tariff on semiconductor imports by US President Donald Trump’s
‘FAILED EXPORT CONTROLS’: Jensen Huang said that Washington should maximize the speed of AI diffusion, because not doing so would give competitors an advantage Nvidia Corp cofounder and chief executive officer Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) yesterday criticized the US government’s restrictions on exports of artificial intelligence (AI) chips to China, saying that the policy was a failure and would only spur China to accelerate AI development. The export controls gave China the spirit, motivation and government support to accelerate AI development, Huang told reporters at the Computex trade show in Taipei. The competition in China is already intense, given its strong software capabilities, extensive technology ecosystems and work efficiency, he said. “All in all, the export controls were a failure. The facts would suggest it,” he said. “The US
The government has launched a three-pronged strategy to attract local and international talent, aiming to position Taiwan as a new global hub following Nvidia Corp’s announcement that it has chosen Taipei as the site of its Taiwan headquarters. Nvidia cofounder and CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) on Monday last week announced during his keynote speech at the Computex trade show in Taipei that the Nvidia Constellation, the company’s planned Taiwan headquarters, would be located in the Beitou-Shilin Technology Park (北投士林科技園區) in Taipei. Huang’s decision to establish a base in Taiwan is “primarily due to Taiwan’s talent pool and its strength in the semiconductor
French President Emmanuel Macron has expressed gratitude to Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) for its plan to invest approximately 250 million euros (US$278 million) in a joint venture in France focused on the semiconductor and space industries. On his official X account on Tuesday, Macron thanked Hon Hai, also known globally as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), for its investment projects announced at Choose France, a flagship economic summit held on Monday to attract foreign investment. In the post, Macron included a GIF displaying the national flag of the Republic of China (Taiwan), as he did for other foreign investors, including China-based
RSS