Lite-On profit jumps 60% on AI boom

• By Meryl Kao / Staff Reporter

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Lite-On Technology Corp (光寶科技) reported that third-quarter net profit rose 4 percent from the previous quarter and 60 percent from a year earlier to NT$7.4 billion (US$227 million), amid robust demand for cloud computing products and power management systems driven by continued artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure expansion.

Earnings per share rose to NT$3.27 from NT$3.14 in the previous quarter and NT$2.05 a year earlier, setting a quarterly record, the company said on Friday.

Third-quarter revenue rose 9 percent from the previous quarter and 28 percent from a year earlier to NT$57.4 billion, it said.

Lite-On Technology Corp signage is pictured outside its headquarters in Taipei’s Neihu Technology Park in an undated photograph.

Photo courtesy of Taipei Fubon Commercial Bank Co

The company expects growth momentum to persist this quarter on the back of robust shipments of AI server power products to major cloud service providers, Lite-On president Anson Chiu (邱森彬) told an an earnings conference in Taipei.

The company has ramped up production of 8.5-kilowatt (kW) power supply units and battery backup units for application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC)-based servers, Chiu said.

The company has also begun mass production of 110kW power shelves for Nvidia Corp’s next-generation Vera Rubin platform and 42-inch power shelves for Advanced Micro Devices Inc’s Helios system, he said.

Lite-On’s 800-volt high-voltage direct current (HVDC) products are expected to undergo system integration validation this month, with initial shipments slated for the first quarter of next year, he added.

AI-related businesses accounted for more than 30 percent of the company’s NT$153.51 billion in revenue in the first three quarters and are expected to contribute 40 percent to 50 percent of total revenue next year, Chiu said.

Lite-On’s gross margin slid to 25.9 percent last quarter from 27.2 percent in the second quarter, but rose from 25.04 percent in the third quarter last year.

The company expects second-half gross margin to exceed the 24.7 percent recorded in the first half, supported by strong shipment momentum this quarter, Chiu added.

To meet demand for AI-related products, the company raised its capital expenditure budget for this year to NT$19.7 billion from NT$18 billion announced last quarter, and expects spending to increase further next year, Lite-On chief financial officer K.T. Lim (林建忠) said.

The company’s new plant in Vietnam is scheduled to open this month, while the second phase of its Kaohsiung facility is expected to obtain an occupancy permit next month and its facility in McKinney, Texas, is slated to begin operations in the second quarter of next year, Chiu said.

The new capacity is expected to support the company’s business growth over the next three to five years, he said.

Lite-On’s board on Friday approved the acquisition of a 70 percent stake in Yinchuan Xinanrui Electric Co (銀川欣安瑞電氣) for 180 million yuan (US$27.08 million), as the company seeks to expand its expertise in high-power transformers and inductors and bolster its supply of key components for AI data center power solutions, Chiu said.