Display driver IC specialists Novatek Microelectronics and Himax Technologies both expect to see their second-quarter revenues hit another record-high levels.
Novatek expects to post revenues of between NT$33 billion (US$1.18 billion) and US$34 billion in the second quarter of 2021, representing a 25-29% sequential increase, with gross margin ranging from 45-48%.
Novatek reported revenues of NT$26.37 billion for the first quarter of 2021, a record high for the fifth consecutive quarter. Gross margin rose to 43.64%, thanks to rising product ASPs and improvement in the company's product mix.
Novatek generated net profits of NT$5.88 billion in the first quarter, also an all-time high, with EPS reaching NT$9.66. The company credited its positive performance during the quarter to growth in sales of both its DDI and system SoC segments.
Novatek disclosed April revenues of NT$11.08 billion, representing increases of 16.3% on month and 69.4% from a year earlier.
Novatek president Steve Wang said at the company's May 5 earnings call conference that demand arising from the rise of the stay-at-home economy remains robust. Novatek has already seen its supply fall short of customer orders due to tight 8- and 12-inch foundry capacities, according to Wang.
Fellow DDI company Himax has announced revenues, gross margin and EPS for the first quarter of 2021 all hit record-high levels. But the company is also aware of "a serious supply-demand imbalance where demand far outpaces supply despite foundries running at more than 100% capacity."
"What we have is a structural shift in demand and supply dynamics, especially for the mature nodes which have lacked meaningful capacity expansion for many years," said Himax president and CEO Jordan Wu. "We have managed to secure more capacity for this year compared to last year, with accessible capacity expected to grow quarter by quarter during 2021. Looking further ahead, we are taking measures to work with our strategic foundry partners to further enlarge our longer-term capacity pool."
Himax reported revenues of US$309 million for the first quarter of 2021, up 12.1% sequentially and 67.4% on year, and beating its guidance given previously of 5-10% sequential growth. Gross margin came to 40.2%, also exceeding its previous estimate of 37-38%. Non-IFRS earnings per diluted ADS reached US$0.384.
Himax expects to post a 15-20% revenue increase in the second quarter, with gross margin ranging from 45.5-47.5%. Non-IFRS earnings per diluted ADS for the quarter is estimated at between US$0.542 and US$0.602.
