Electronic components supplier Lite-On Technology Corp (光寶科技) posted the best quarterly net profit in its history last quarter at NT$4.56 billion (US$140.63 million), as gross margin improved thanks to an increase in shipments of better-margin power supplies for artificial intelligence (AI) servers and cloud-computing data centers, it said yesterday.
Last quarter’s net profit rose 9 percent sequentially from NT$4.2 billion, or 7 percent annually from NT$4.24 billion. Earnings per share rose to NT$1.99 last quarter from NT$1.84 in the second quarter and NT$1.86 last year.
That was despite the company’s revenue growth falling short of expectations as high inflation, geopolitical tensions and a weak macroeconomy dampened consumer spending during the quarter ending Sept. 30, Lite-On said.
Photo: Fang Wei-chieh, Taipei Times
Revenue last quarter experienced sub-seasonal growth, Lite-On said.
However, the firm’s gross margin grew to an all-time high of 23.6 percent last quarter from 23.3 percent a quarter earlier and 19.5 percent a year earlier, which it attributed to optimized product portfolios.
Lite-On’s operating profit margin improved to 11.6 percent from 9 percent in the second quarter and from 9.5 percent a year earlier.
The company said it expects revenue to grow at a mild pace this quarter, compared with NT$39.96 billion last quarter, as demand for components used in notebook computers and some consumer electronics started to pick up slightly.
“Business in the fourth quarter should be relatively lukewarm compared with the company’s records in the past,” Lite-On president Anson Chiu (邱森彬) told investors yesterday.
“Overall, we are relatively optimistic about the company’s ability to register a stable growth in revenue and profit during the fourth quarter, though the macroeconomic outlook remains bleak,” Chiu said.
This quarter’s main growth drivers would be high-margin power supplies used in cloud-computing servers and automotive devices, Chiu said.
US auto workers and automakers are resolving their conflicts and the supply of graphics processing units used in AI servers is improving, which would help fuel some demand this quarter, he added.
Demand for information and communications technology and consumer electronics have apparently bottomed out, Chiu said.
Notebook computer sales expanded year-on-year in the third quarter, while desktop computer sales would post an annual increase in the first quarter of next year, he added.
Lite-On expects revenue for this year to hold steady compared with last year, Chiu said.
Next year, the company is pushing for mergers and acquisitions to stimulate revenue growth, he added.
Lite-On said it is deploying two production lines in Dallas, Texas, which would contribute NT$2 billion in revenue next year, Chiu said.
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
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
An earnings report from semiconductor giant and artificial intelligence (AI) bellwether Nvidia Corp takes center stage for Wall Street this week, as stocks hit a speed bump of worries over US federal deficits driving up Treasury yields. US equities pulled back last week after a torrid rally, as investors turned their attention to tax and spending legislation poised to swell the US government’s US$36 trillion in debt. Long-dated US Treasury yields rose amid the fiscal worries, with the 30-year yield topping 5 percent and hitting its highest level since late 2023. Stocks were dealt another blow on Friday when US President Donald
UNCERTAINTY: Investors remain worried that trade negotiations with Washington could go poorly, given Trump’s inconsistency on tariffs in his second term, experts said The consumer confidence index this month fell for a ninth consecutive month to its lowest level in 13 months, as global trade uncertainties and tariff risks cloud Taiwan’s economic outlook, a survey released yesterday by National Central University found. The biggest decline came from the timing for stock investments, which plunged 11.82 points to 26.82, underscoring bleak investor confidence, it said. “Although the TAIEX reclaimed the 21,000-point mark after the US and China agreed to bury the hatchet for 90 days, investors remain worried that the situation would turn sour later,” said Dachrahn Wu (吳大任), director of the university’s Research Center for
RSS