AU Optronics (AUO) has announced that its consolidated revenues in the fourth quarter of 2012 were NT$99.4 billion (US$3.42 billion), down 3.3% from the previous quarter. Gross profit was US$97 million, with a gross margin of 2.8% while operating loss was US$164 million, with an operating margin of negative 4.8%. AUO's net loss for the fourth quarter of 2012 was US$453 million while net loss attributable to equity holders of the parent company was US$429 million, or a basic EPS of negative US$0.49 per ADR.
In the fourth quarter of 2012, shipments of large-size panels reached around 31 million units, down 6.7% on quarter while shipments of small- to medium-size panels were around 37.6 million units, down 10.8% on quarter, said AUO.
As for the company's core operations, AUO's gross margin has turned positive, while its operating losses also came down significantly compared with the previous quarter, said AUO. Among these, the display industry has been gradually recovering, and so driven by the TV panels, the company's utilization rates and shipment area both improved at a steady pace. Through the continuous platform simplification and the operational restructuring by management team, AUO also effectively enhanced the product mix and production efficiency in the fourth-quarter 2012. As a result, these efforts have made the company's EBITDA margin of the display segment improve to 13.5%. With regard to the solar business, after pro-actively adjusting its operational scale and controlling the expenses, the company's operating losses for the solar segment also reduced considerably, added AUO.
AUO noted that looking forward to 2013, the new technologies the company has cultivated for a long time are getting ready, and in particular, the operations for high-end small- to medium-size products are expected to return to track. With more high-end brands added to the customer base of small- to medium-size business, it is hoped that the company has a chance to gain more market share. In addition, with the trend that the display industry is moving to devices with higher resolutions and large screens, industry supply and demand is expected to become healthier. AUO said it will continue to focus on its core competences and strengthen its portfolio of high-end products, aiming to maximize the capacity value and enhance the company's operating performance.
