Rugged tablet and PDA supplier Winmate expects its sales and earnings to rebound in 2018, buoyed by strong incoming orders, steady supplies of key materials and depreciation of local currency, according to company chairman Lu Ku-ching.
Winmate saw its net profits dip 27% on year to a low NT$134 million (US$4.456 million) in 2017 during which revenues were up 5.06% to NT$1.414 billion. EPS stood at NT$2.18 in 2017, the company's lowest level.
While the company's sales performance remained flat in the first quarter of 2018, Lu believes that sales will improve in the second quarter and grow more robustly starting the third quarter due to the introduce of new products.
Rugged devices for petrochemical, automotive testing, smart warehousing/logistics and medical applications will contribute most to revenue growth in 2018, Lu continued.
Sales of tablet products will account for 50% of total revenues in 2018 due to expanded capacity, Lu said. A Chinese-language Economic Daily News (EDN) report indicated that the company has doubled its capacity for niche-type tablets to 5,000 units a month currently as compared to a year earlier.
Meanwhile, Winmate is expected to see its revenues rebound to NT$1.5-1.6 billion with net profit of NT$187-200 million in 2018, according to an industry estimate.
Winmate chairman Lu Ku-ching
Photo: Ninelu Tu, Digitimes, May 2018
Article translated by Steve Shen
