TAIPEI: St Shine Optical Co Ltd on Wednesday said that its net income for last quarter dipped 12.77 percent from the previous quarter to NT$410 million (US$12,5 million) or NT$8.13 per share.
However, the maker of Ticon brand contact lenses said its consolidated sales rose 10 percent sequentially to NT$1.64 billion last quarter, while gross margin improved to 38.9 percent.
For the whole of last year, the company’s net income fell 7.44 percent annually to NT$1.46 billion, or NT$28.88 per share.
The company’s board on Wednesday proposed distributing of a NT$23.5 cash dividend per common share, with a payout ratio of 81 percent.
Despite the company’s improving earnings growth last quarter, St Shine’s aggregate sales during the first two months of this year totaled NT$980 million, marking an 8.4 percent decline from the same period last year.
Sales for this quarter are expected to fall 4 percent from last quarter, while increasing 15 percent annually, Yuanta Securities Investment Consulting Co analyst Peggy Lee said yesterday.
Earnings per share might reach NT$7.42 this quarter, Lee said.
St Shine has been facing pressure to cut prices in Japan, as the company’s shipments to clients there are denominated in US dollars.
In January, the company said that an agreement was reached with Japanese clients to base prices on a floating mechanism according to foreign-exchange fluctuations to mitigate rising costs.
The effect of the yen’s depreciation on the company’s gross margin is expected to diminish this year, Daiwa Capital Markets Inc said.
“We expect less of a price discount in view of the recently stabilized foreign-exchange trend, with gross margin this year likely to recover from its trough of 36.9 percent last year, supported as well by a rising production capacity utilization rate,” Daiwa analyst Helen Chien said in a client note on Wednesday.
Chien said she expects sales in Japan and China, the company’s main markets, to rise 11 percent and 40 percent respectively this year.
The company’s potential gross margin recovery has also led CIMB Securities Ltd to raise its earnings per share forecast for this year by 14 percent, analyst Nora Hou said in a note on Wednesday.
St Shine shares closed 4 percent higher at NT$600 yesterday in the over-the-counter TPEX market. The stock has lost 3.48 percent so far this year.
