Sapphire ingot maker USI Optronics seeing orders pick up

USI Optronics is seeing order visibility for sapphire ingots extend to two months on a pick-up in LED lighting demand, according to its parent company Acme Electronics. Acme indicated that USI Optronics has seen its order visibility improve significantly. Visibility was pretty low in the second half of 2011, Acme added. USI Optronics enjoyed a particularly good first half of 2011 on rising shipments and favorable product prices, Acme revealed. However, with ASPs for sapphire substrates falling on weak demand in the LED market, USI Optronics saw its product quotes affected and revenues shrink substantially in the latter half of the year, Acme said. ASPs for 2-inch sapphire substrates, for instance, slipped to US$8-9 per unit at the end of 2011 from as high as US$27 at the beginning of the year, according to industry sources. USI Optronics enjoyed revenue growth of more than 30% sequentially in the first two months of 2012. Revenues for March slid 1.2% on month to NT$58 million (US$2 million), as clients slow down orders to work off their existing inventory at quarter-end to settle accounts. Source: www.digitimes.com