Industrial computer maker Advantech Co (研華) yesterday said it has strong order momentum from major clients in fields such as semiconductor equipment, automation, robotics, smart city and transportation infrastructure projects, with solid design wins.
The company secured 53 design wins in the first quarter, up from 46 a year earlier, which are expected to generate revenue of US$158 million this year, Advantech president Eric Chen (陳清熙) said at an earnings conference.
Total revenue this quarter is expected to be between US$650 million and US$670 million, on par with NT$20.39 billion (US$647.55 million) last quarter, Chen said.
Photo: Fang Wei-chieh, Taipei Times
Advantech reported a 7 percent quarter-on-quarter rise in its net profit last quarter and a 22 percent year-on-year increase to NT$3.33 billion.
Earnings per share rose to NT$3.85 from NT$3.58 the previous quarter and NT$3.17 a year earlier.
Gross margin was 39.1 percent last quarter and is expected to land between 38 percent and 40 percent this quarter, while operating margin was 18.3 percent last quarter and is forecast to be between 16 percent and 18 percent this quarter.
The company remains upbeat about its place in the artificial intelligence (AI) business, which contributed about US$132 million, accounting for 20.5 percent of last quarter’s revenue, he said.
Its revenue contribution could reach 30 percent this year, up from 20 percent last year, he added.
Orders were primarily from the US, Europe and China, in areas such as factory automation, robotics, smart cities and transportation, he said, adding that AI systems and AI automation are expected to support stronger growth momentum than embedded AI services this year.
Demand for autonomous mobile robots and automated guided vehicles remain stable, while humanoid robots still require time to move from engineering prototypes to mass production, Chen said.
There are about 130 robotics-related projects in the pipeline, representing potential revenue of about US$120 million, he said.
Amid the AI boom, semiconductor equipment and data center infrastructure have become key growth drivers for Advantech, accounting for 30 percent to 35 percent of total revenue last quarter, with customers in Taiwan, the US, Japan and South Korea, Chen said.
A key challenge ahead is a shortage of chips, as supplies of DDR5 DRAM chips, central processing units (CPUs), solid-state drives and printed circuit boards remain tight this year, Advantech Intelligent Systems Sector president Linda Tsai (蔡淑妍) said.
DDR5 prices have risen by about 30 euros to 50 euros (US$35.26 to US$58.76) per quarter, while CPU prices have increased by 10 percent to 20 percent, Tsai said.
Advantech maintains a stable supply through long-term procurement agreements and closer cooperation with upstream suppliers, Tsai added.
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