TPK Sees EPS Exceed NT$10 (US$0.33) in Q3

Taipei, Oct.8, 2012 (CENS)--TPK Holdings Ltd., the world's largest supplier of touch panels by market share, saw consolidated revenues in September grow 3.2% month on month (MoM) to NT$13.378 billion (US$445.93 million), up 3.3% year on year (YoY). An institutional investor says due to growing shipments of medium & large-sized panels, the firm's operating margin rebounded to 11% with NT$10 (US$0.33) in earnings per share (EPS). With growing shipments of tablet PCs and laptops in the fourth quarter, TPK is expected to see improving operating performance.

Driven by rising shipments of e-book readers, tablet PCs in the third quarter, TPK has witnessed continuous growths in monthly revenues, posting NT$37.661 billion (US$1.25 billion) in third-quarter revenues with 4.37% growth quarter on quarter (QoQ), with NT$114.2 billion (US$3.81 billion) in total first-three-quarter revenues.

TPK is currently the biggest supplier of touch panels for the upcoming Apple 7.8-inch iPad mini, and is expected to see revenues keep rising in the fourth quarter.

An institutional investor said that tablet PCs including Google's Nexus 7, Amazon's new-edition Kindle Fire, Apple's iPad and iPad Mini and Microsoft's Surface, totally accounted for 80% of TPK's profits, offsetting losses from iPhone 5 orders.

With successful capital raising, steady performance in revenues in the third quarter, expected fully-loaded production capacity in the fourth quarter, and improving product mix, TPK is likely to continue enhancing operations, said Merrill Lynch & Co., the wealth management division of Bank of America.

Merrill Lynch predicts TPK will reach 44% market share in the touch-panel market, as touch screens are essential for tablet PCs.