Industry news

Diode rectifier seller and CCFL (cold cathode fluorescent lamp) lighting maker Sintronic Technology will set up a polycrystalline sapphire production line in southern Taiwan in first-quarter 2017, with production to begin in the following quarter, according to the company.

To raise funds for constructing the production line, Sintronic will issue 10 million new shares and 3-year zero-interest secured convertible bonds worth NT$300 million (US$9.4 million).

With production cost being 35% lower than that for monocrystalline sapphire, polycrystalline sapphire is mainly used to make covers of smartphone-use fingerprint recognition modules and cameras, Sintronic said. The production line will have monthly capacity of 20,000 5-inch x 5-inch polycrystalline sapphire plates, equivalent to three million covers of fingerprint recognition modules, and will later produce 6-inch x 6-inch units, Sintronic noted.

Sintronic has partnered with China-based China Star Optoelectronics Technology (CSOT) for promoting adoption of CSOT-produced small- to medium-size LTPS TFT-LCD panels mainly by Taiwan-based smartphone vendors or ODMs, with such products being under trial use, Sintronic indicated.

Sintronic has also become a Taiwan sales agent of handset-use chemical materials, including photoresists, ITO film and OCA (optically clear adhesive), for Japan-based makers.

With 99.09% of consolidated revenues coming from diode rectifiers and 0.65% from CCFL lighting currently, Sintronic expects diode rectifiers to account for 40% of 2017 consolidated revenues, chemical materials 40% and LTPS panels 20%.

Sintronic posted consolidated revenues of NT$758 million, gross margin of 14.95%, net operating loss of NT$13.9 million, net loss of NT$31.8 million and net loss per share of NT$0.33 for January-September 2016.