Lextar Electronics has seen increasing orders for LED backlight units (BLUs) mainly from China- and South Korea-based LCD TV vendors, with overall capacity utilization rising to 70-80% currently and shipments scheduled for 1-1.5 months, according to the company.
Lextar has begun small-volume shipments of LED BLUs for use in Ultra HD TV panels and expects shipments to significantly increase in the second half of 2013, the company said.
In addition to TV panels, Lextar expects large growth in orders for LED BLUs used in smartphones and tablets from China-based vendors and international ones other than Apple and Samsung Electronics, with the corresponding revenue proportion expected to rise from 3% in 2012 to 10% in 2013, the company indicated.
Lextar is expected to see second-quarter 2013 consolidated revenues hike on quarter by 30-40%, according to market analysts. Currently, Lextar has 65-70% of consolidated revenues coming from LED BLUs and 30-35% from LED lighting products, the company said.
Lextar has no plans to add MOCVD equipment and will focus capex on R&D in 2013, with its budget decreasing from NT$1.3 billion (US$44.1 million) in 2012 to less than NT$1 billion, the company indicated.
