Innolux Corp (群創) swung into a net profit of NT$6.47 billion (US$196.3 million) last year from a loss of NT$18.64 billion the previous year, which the flat panel display maker attributed to massive asset disposal gains.
The company booked a non-operating income of NT$16.15 billion last year, derived from gains of NT$14.7 billion from selling an idled plant in Tainan to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電).
Earnings per share improved to NT$0.76, compared with losses per share of NT$2.01 in the prior year, Innolux said.
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Using last year’s earnings and an allocation of the company’s reserved income, its board of directors approved a cash dividend distribution of NT$1 per share, it said.
Even so, Innolux has not steered out of the woods yet. The company reported a third consecutive year of an operating loss of NT$7.92 billion last year, following an operating loss of NT$18.71 billion the previous year.
Gross margin improved to 6.5 percent from 1.5 percent, and the margin of earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) rose to 10.7 percent from 5.7 percent a year ago, the company said.
The company is positive about the flat panel market going forward, citing China’s subsidiary program for consumer electronics, which would stimulate replacement demand, and the US tariff hikes on imports, which are expected to prompt customers to front-load flat panels used in TVs and computers, Innolux said.
The introduction of new artificial intelligence (AI) models from DeepSeek (深度求索) is also accelerating the adoption of AI devices and applications, buoying up demand for computer flat panels, it added.
Shipments of large-sized panels used in TVs and computers are to drop by a low-single-digit percentage this quarter from last quarter, while shipments of small-and-medium-sized panels are to increase by a low-single-digit percentage sequentially, the company said.
To minimize the impact of the industry’s boom-and-bust cycles, Innolux has strived to expand into the advanced chip packaging, or panel-level packaging (PLP) technology, business.
However, disappointing demand for smartphones has delayed the company’s PLP product shipments from the end of last year it had scheduled, it said.
The company said non-display products contributed about 26 percent to the company’s total revenue during the final quarter of last year, up slightly from 24 percent in the same period of 2023. Display products made up 74 percent last quarter, down from 76 percent a year earlier.
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