Taiwan-based LED chipmakers Epistar and Opto Tech have seen their order visibility for blue LED chips extend into September 2009 amid increasing demand for LED backlighting, according to market sources. Epistar's blue LED chip production has reached 100% utilization in May, while Opto Tech expects its blue LED chip production to reach 100% utilization in the third quarter.
Opto Tech saw its April 2009 revenues drop 2.03% to NT$371.41 million (US$11.27 million) from NT$379.1 million in March, and a decline of 42.68% from NT$648 million in April 2008, according to data from the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TSE). The company's accumulated revenues of the first four months totaled NT$1.35 billion, down 41.55% on year.
Opto Tech plans to expand its blue LED capacity by 100 million units in the second half of 2009, and will add 100 million units every six months, the sours noted, adding that Opto Tech's current monthly capacity is 300 million LED chips, with AlGaInP, blue, and infra-red each accounting for 100 million units.
Opto Tech's blue LED revenues increased 10% sequentially in April amid increasing demand from the China market, the sources said, noting that blue LEDs accounted for 10-15% of the company's total revenues.
Meanwhile, Epistar reported revenues of NT$982.72 million for April, up 7.97% from NT$910.19 million in March, but down 6.91% from NT$1.06 billion in April 2008, according to TSE data. The company had accumulated revenues from January to April of NT$3.01 billion, down 18.57% on year.
Article translated by Yvonne Yu
