Handset camera lens maker Largan Precision Co (大立光) yesterday reported weaker-than-expected revenue for the second quarter, after sales last month reached the lowest level in 13 months as clients entered a product transition period and the company experienced delivery schedule issues.
Revenue for the April-to-June period was NT$13.66 billion (US$427.81 million), down 12.09 percent from the same period last year, but increasing 17.07 percent year-on-year, the company said in a statement.
It came after revenue last month decreased 19.18 percent quarterly and was down 10.46 percent annually to NT$3.71 billion, the lowest since May last year when revenue was NT$3.24 billion.
Photo: Chen Mei-ying, Taipei Times
Yuanta Securities Investment Consulting Co (元大投顧), which had expected Largan’s second-quarter revenue to reach NT$1.4 billion, forecast that third-quarter revenue would grow 39 percent sequentially to NT$19.5 billion as the handset industry enters a peak season, it said in a note on Wednesday last week.
“Apple is set to launch iPhone 18 with variable aperture lenses in the third quarter, which will support Largan’s product average selling price, as it has an exclusive supply share,” Yuanta said.
Largan’s revenue for the first half of the year rose 11.26 percent to NT$29.21 billion, compared with NT$26.25 billion a year ago, company data showed.
The Taichung-based company is the world’s largest handset camera lens producer, supplying high-end products for Apple Inc and Android phone vendors, such as Samsung Electronics, Xiaomi Corp (小米) and Huawei Technologies Co (華為).
Largan is to release its second-quarter financial results and factory utilization at an earnings conference on Thursday, and give sales guidance for this quarter.
Investors would learn about the company’s gross margin results, after it fell to 49.4 percent in the first quarter from 54.63 percent a year earlier due to low yields on some products, higher fixed asset investments and increased electricity costs.
Investors are also expected to hear from the company about its progress in the copackaged optics (CPO) business, as Largan is focused on the key component for CPO — fiber array unit (FAU) — which is crucial for optical interconnects at artificial intelligence servers.
Largan has spent eight months in research and development on optical communication applications, leveraging its expertise in precision alignment.
The company can manufacture precision alignment equipment in-house which can control process accuracy for coupling photonic component to optical fibers better than industry standards, Yuanta said.
While the company plans to establish pilot lines using semi-automated production and prepares to send its FAU samples to customers for testing, meaningful FAU sales contribution would not come until 2028 at the earliest, following equipment installation and mass production, Yuanta added.
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