Lextar Electronics, a Taiwan-based maker of LED epitaxial wafers and chips as well as LED backlight units (BLUs) and lighting products, on November 5 reported consolidated revenues of NT$855 million (US$29.2 million) for October, representing a decrease of 15.12% on month and 3.55% on year. Its sales of NT$8.553 billion for January-October, were up 12.86% on year.
The revenue drop was mainly because products to meet year-end peak demand were shipped in the third quarter and the fourth quarter is traditionally the low season, Lextar indicated.
Lextar expects the direct-type LED-backlit penetration of LCD TVs to rise to 40-50% in 2013, especially in the China market, and has begun supplying LED tubes for use in backlights of entry-level LCD TVs of 32-40 inches and high-end models of 50-65 inches, the company pointed out. In addition, Lextar has been developing LED chips with low power consumption and high brightness for use in BLUs of smartphones and plans to tap the China market in 2013, the company indicated.
Shipments of LED devices used in lighting to clients in Europe are slightly on the rise, Lextar noted. Mainstream LED lighting products exported to the Japan market have shifted from bulbs to tubes, Lextar indicated.
Lextar posted third-quarter 2012 consolidated revenues of NT$2.894 billion which grew by 10.9% on quarter and by 14.9% on year, gross margin of 12.4%, net profit of NT$105 million. In the third quarter, overall utilization of production capacity stood at above 80% and days sales of inventory decreased from 79 days in the preceding quarter to 67 days, Lextar pointed out.
