Eastern Technologies Holding Won LG Contracts for Flat-Panel TV Sound Bars

Taipei, Oct. 16, 2012 (CENS)--Eastern Technologies Holding Ltd., reportedly the world's No.1 contract supplier of sound speakers, recently announced it has won LG contracts for flat-panel TV sound bars and estimated the contract volume would increase multi-folds next year from this year.

The contracts mark the company's first from South Korean buyers as its customers are mostly Japanese and European buyers. According to industry executives, South Korean TV makers Samsung and LG have in-house facilities that make almost all components for their products, making outsourcing from them almost unlikely.

Industry executives pointed out the company will supply LG six models of sound bars next year after delivering three models this year. They estimated the company will ship millions of the bars to LG this year.

They pointed out that Eastern Technologies aims to grab not only South Korean contracts for high-end sound bars but also contracts for middle-range and low-end products.

Eastern Technologies said its gross margin surged to 13.4% in the first half of this year alone, up from 10% for the entire 2011. The company's chairman, C.L. Liu, ascribed the considerable margin growth mostly to the company's rollouts of several new products. He noted that the sound speaker industry usually does not post steep margin changes given that it is a mature industry with a history of at least 70 years. There are, he added, exceptions when new product mixes are introduced.

The company's president, J.C. Pai, noted that the company has begun developing Bluetooth-enabled sound bars with initial shipment set in 2013.

Eastern Technologies' Operating Results (2009-1st half 2012)

Source: Eastern Technologies