Data Communications - Optical Communications Players Exhibiting Turnaround
September 21, 2004
Taiwanese optical communications component makers demonstrated a marked improvement in revenue and profit performance during the first half of 2004. Component makers have benefited from the continued fall in prices, which have encouraged US and Japanese players to award more orders.
Transceiver maker APAC's first half revenue was NT$230 million (US$6.8 million; US$1 = NT$33.9), four fold year-on-year growth. Moreover, the NT$90 million (US$2.7 million) in losses suffered in the first half of 2003 shrank to NT$20 (US$590,000) million in first half of 2004.
Passive component maker Browave generated close to NT$200 million (US$5.9 million) in the first half, year-on-year growth of nearly 60%; first half losses were already half the level seen during the same period of 2003. Infomax Optical Technology, which had merged with NETI in May, has also been able curb first half losses and even generated profits in July and August.
Additionally, Hon Hai has already started shipping transceivers to Intel for use in Fibre Channel. The company's recent restructuring has also produced results. After merging with Ambit, Hon Hai migrated its entire optical communications unit into the new acquisition, intending to lower external sales and move toward an in-house supply model. Cisco, HP, and Huawei have already placed orders for network equipment produced from such internal supply.
Meanwhile, Delta won nearly half of all transceiver orders for Japanese FTTH deployments to ship in the second half of 2004.