Lite-On Technology (2301-tw) today reported fourth quarter 2014 consolidated sales of NT$60.05 billion with a growth of 1% Y-o-Y and a decrease of 1% Q-o-Q, attributable to the stable growths of LED Components and Lighting, high-end server and networking Power Systems, and mobiles application Power Supplies. However, a Camera Module inventory adjustment and a mobiles Mechanics business transition resulted in fourth quarter net profits of NT$1.45 billion with EPS of NT$0.63, while the gross margin and operating margin were 10.9% and 2.4% respectively. In 2014, Lite-On’s annual consolidated sales reached NT$230.6 billion with a growth of 8% Y-o-Y, and net profits were NT$6.46 billion with EPS of NT$2.8, while the gross margin and operating margin were 12.2% and 3.1% respectively. Meanwhile, the net cash position reached NT$21.6 billion through aggressive working capital management, coupled with a positive free cash flow generated from operations.

In 2014, thanks to stable end-market demand, Lite-On’s core businesses showed steady growth, and in non-traditional PC related products, the six major growth drivers contributed approximately a 50% share of Lite-On’s overall revenue with a growth of 30% Y-o-Y. The Optoelectronics business segment contributed a 26% share of sales, in which growing end-market demand for Lighting, Consumer and mobiles applications reinforced LED street lighting shipment growth driven by increased global demand for energy saving solutions, coupled with smooth delivery in North America and Asia; LED vehicle lighting shipments grew, driven by increased demand from major global automotive customers; and camera module revenue increased, driven by high-mega pixel product expansion, coupled with ongoing market share gains in smartphoness and PCs, resulting in the Optoelectronics business segment achieving a revenue growth of 29% Y-o-Y.

The Information Technologies business segment accounted for 45% of revenue, of which Power Systems’ annual revenue hit a record high, resulting from increases in global demand for server power management systems in cloud computing as well as mobiles devices. Meanwhile, in Mechanical Competence, increased shipments of high-end server enclosure products, ongoing market share gains and the delivery growths of keyboards for tablet and PCs in HIS (Human Input Solutions - PC Keyboards and Peripherals) and the delivery growth in Multi-Function Peripheral laser models resulted in a revenue growth of 14% Y-o-Y.

Storage business accounted for 17% of revenue. Thanks to increased end-market demand, solid state drive (SSD) and game console application products achieved a revenue growth of over 20% Y-o-Y.

In 2015, the company’s major approaches will focus on profitability optimization through operational structure enhancements with resource integration. By means of core competence improvement and cost structure refinement, it’s expected to efficiently fulfill customer demands and consolidate supply chain, as well as production and inventory management, while enhancing advanced automation capabilities to shorten the production cycle time and strengthen processes. Looking forward, overall operation will be improved gradually through better customer and product diversification this year.

Lite-On's Board has proposed a 2014 dividend plan offering NT$ 2.02 per share. Of that sum, the cash and stock dividend portions will be NT$1.97 and NT$0.05 per share respectively. The dividend payout ratio and cash yield reached 72% and 5% respectively, maintaining a stable and generous dividend policy.

Press Contact:
Julia Wang, Sr. Director of IR/PR
+886-2-8798-2888
Liteontech.IR@yizhaojr.com