Polarizer maker Optimax to spend NT$5.5 billion on new lines and equipment
Rebecca Kuo, Taipei; Carrie Yu, DigiTimes.com [Thursday 19 February 2004]
Taiwan-based Optimax Technology plans to spend NT$5.5 billion on construction of new polarizer lines and equipment procurement this year and will expand its capital by between NT$2.5 billion and NT$3 billion in the second quarter.
Last Friday, the company announced it expected its 2004 sales to grow 60% to NT$16 billion. The growth will come on a higher yield rate and ramping up of capacity, it said.
The company plans to raise its LCD TV polarizer yield rate from 50% to 70% in 2004 and expand annual capacity to 36 million square meters.
Its gross margin is also likely to stay at 35%, with EPS reaching NT$5.78 in 2004, the company said, adding that LCD TV polarizer sales would rise to 15-20% of its total sales this year, up from 6% last year.
January 2004 panel shipments for LCD TVs larger than 20 inches
Country
Thousand units
South Korea
250
Taiwan
>200
Japan
200
Total
>650*
Source: Optimax, compiled by DigiTimes, February 2004.
*About 65% of total estimated LCD TV panel shipments of 10 million units
Optimax: 2004 new polarizer line plans
Finish construction
Volume production
Monthly capacity
(thousand square meters)
Note
Front-end
-
Jul 2004
640
-
-
Nov 2004
640
-
2H 2004
-
Apr 2005
640
Back-end
Jun 2004
-
-
-
Total
-
-
1,920
-
Source: company, compiled by DigiTimes, February 2004.
*Constructed on one line |
