Apex, HannStar Board report strong profits for 3Q14

 Apex, HannStar Board report strong profits for 3Q14 

PCB manufacturer Apex International saw its net profits jump 79.4% sequentially in the third quarter of 2014, while profits at HannStar Board reached the highest level in nine quarters. Apex has reported net profits of NT$166 million (US$5.42 million) on record consolidated revenues of NT$2.03 billion for the third quarter of 2014. Profits were 27.4% higher than those posted a year ago, while sales saw a 22% on-year increase. Gross margin climbed to 19.5% from 17.29% in the second quarter. Apex credited the positive performance to rising output from its new factory, which has landed more orders and managed to improve manufacturing yields. Apex kicked off commercial operations for the first-phase capacity of its new plant in Thailand in the second quarter. Apex' net profits for the first three quarters of 2014 totaled NT$365 million, exceeding the NT$351 million reported for all of 2013. Market watchers expect Apex to post 10-15% revenues growth in 2014. Apex manufactures PCBs mainly for TVs, set-top boxes and printers. HannStar Board has announced net profits soared 96% sequentially to NT$358 million in the third quarter of 2014, while consolidated revenues increased 9% on quarter to NT$13.18 billion. Gross margin for the quarter reached 10.04% compared to 8.91% in the second quarter. Higher production utilization, an improved product mix, and falling copper prices made a positive contribution to HannStar Board's profitability in the third quarter, the company revealed. HannStar Board is engaged in the manufacture of PCBs for notebooks, TVs, games consoles, set-top boxes and servers.