Last month’s revenue at Largan Precision Co (大立光) was the highest the smartphone camera lens supplier had posted in 10 months and marks the sixth consecutive month of growth, the company said yesterday.
Consolidated revenue rose 3.54 percent month-on-month to NT$4.35 billion (US$156.9 million), the highest since January, when the company posted NT$4.61 billion in revenue, Largan data showed.
The results reflected that the firm was ramping up production as the industry enters its peak season and customers launch new models.
Photo: Chen Mei-ying, Taipei Times
However, last month’s figure was 16.94 percent lower than the NT$5.24 billion it posted a year earlier, as component shortages and continued effects of the COVID-19 pandemic prompted smartphone brands to postpone camera upgrades, Largan said.
Analysts said that the company’s Chinese clients remained unable to make up for the loss of orders from Huawei Technologies Co (華為), which is affected by US sanctions that also influenced Largan’s average selling prices and shipping volume.
Taichung-based Largan counts Apple Inc, Sony Corp and Samsung Electronics Inc among its customers.
High-margin lenses for cameras of 20 or more megapixels accounted for 10 to 20 percent of its total shipments last month, lenses for products of 10 megapixels or more contributed 50 to 60 percent, lenses for 8-megapixel products made up 10 percent and other lenses for products with lower resolutions contributed 20 to 30 percent, Largan’s shipment breakdown showed.
As a leading maker of optical lens modules, Largan also produces real-image viewfinders and other optoelectronic parts.
The company’s cumulative revenue for the first 11 months of this year dropped 16.79 percent year-on-year to NT$42.46 billion.
Largan remains a leader in the lens industry, but the overall smartphone supply chains are still facing uncertainties amid tight supply for some components and the lingering pandemic in the near term, analysts said.
For this quarter, Largan’s revenue is forecast to grow 9 percent quarter-on-quarter, but fall 15 percent year-on-year to NT$13 billion, due mainly to its US clients losing market share, price pressure and weaker demand from Android-based smartphone brands, Yuanta Securities Investment Consulting Co (元大投顧) said in a research note last month.
Due to slowing specification upgrades, rising competition from rivals and continued pressure on its gross margin, Largan shares have declined 37.56 percent so far this year.
The shares closed 0.99 percent lower at NT$1,995 on Friday in Taipei trading, Taiwan Stock Exchange data showed.
Largan’s board of directors on Oct. 25 approved the company’s first buyback program for two months, aiming to buy back up to 1.342 million shares — or 1 percent of its outstanding shares — on the open market from Oct. 26 to Dec. 24 at NT$2,025 to NT$3,300 per share.
The company has thus far repurchased 580,000 shares for NT$2,090 on average, spending a total of NT$1.21 billion, its regulatory filings showed.
purpose: Tesla’s CEO sought to meet senior Chinese officials to discuss the rollout of its ‘full self-driving’ software in China and approval to transfer data they had collected Tesla Inc CEO Elon Musk arrived in Beijing yesterday on an unannounced visit, where he is expected to meet senior officials to discuss the rollout of "full self-driving" (FSD) software and permission to transfer data overseas, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. Chinese state media reported that he met Premier Li Qiang (李強) in Beijing, during which Li told Musk that Tesla's development in China could be regarded as a successful example of US-China economic and trade cooperation. Musk confirmed his meeting with the premier yesterday with a post on social media platform X. "Honored to meet with Premier Li
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: The chipmaker last month raised its capital spending by 28 percent for this year to NT$32 billion from a previous estimate of NT$25 billion Contract chipmaker Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp (力積電子) yesterday launched a new 12-inch fab, tapping into advanced chip-on-wafer-on-substrate (CoWoS) packaging technology to support rising demand for artificial intelligence (AI) devices. Powerchip is to offer interposers, one of three parts in CoWoS packaging technology, with shipments scheduled for the second half of this year, Powerchip chairman Frank Huang (黃崇仁) told reporters on the sidelines of a fab inauguration ceremony in the Tongluo Science Park (銅鑼科學園區) in Miaoli County yesterday. “We are working with customers to supply CoWoS-related business, utilizing part of this new fab’s capacity,” Huang said, adding that Powerchip intended to bridge
Dutch brewing company Heineken NV on Friday announced an investment of NT$13.5 billion (US$414.62 million) over the next five years in Taiwan. The first multinational brewing company to operate in Taiwan, Heineken made the statement at a ceremony held at its brewery in Pingtung County. It also outlined its efforts to make the brewery “net zero” by 2030. Heineken has been in the Taiwanese market for 20 years, Heineken Taiwan managing director Jeff Wu (吳建甫) said. With strong support from local consumers, the Dutch brewery decided to transition from sales to manufacturing in the country, Wu said. Heineken assumed majority ownership and management rights
Microsoft Corp yesterday said that it would create Thailand’s first data center region to boost cloud and artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure, promising AI training to more than 100,000 people to develop tech. Bangkok is a key economic player in Southeast Asia, but it has lagged behind Indonesia and Singapore when it comes to the tech industry. Thailand has an “incredible opportunity to build a digital-first, AI-powered future,” Microsoft chairman and chief executive officer Satya Nadella said at an event in Bangkok. Data center regions are physical locations that store computing infrastructure, allowing secure and reliable access to cloud platforms. The global embrace of AI