Himax Technologies Co., Ltd. (NASDAQ:HIMX) reported first-quarter revenue of $207.55 million, down 15.0% year over year, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $203.4 million. Net revenue decreased 8.8% sequentially.
Earnings per ADS were $0.07, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.05.
Gross margin reached 29.3%, exceeding guidance of approximately 28.5%.
Revenue from large display drivers was $31.3 million, down 7% sequentially due to seasonally soft macroeconomic conditions, compounded by continued production and inventory control actions by the company’s major panel customers. Ta.
Sales of small and medium-sized display drivers were $144.3 million, down 11.5% sequentially.
Non-driver revenue increased 3.4% sequentially to $32 million due to a recovery in orders for large display Tcon products.
Operating expenses for the quarter were $50.7 million, down 0.6% from the prior year.
Operating income was $10 million, compared to $17.6 million in the prior year period, and margin decreased 240 bps to 4.8%, primarily due to lower sales.
As of March 31, 2024, the company’s inventory was $201.9 million, significantly lower than the previous quarter’s $217.3 million.
Himax had cash, cash equivalents and other financial assets of $261.7 million as of March 31, 2024. HIMX generated positive cash flow of $56.7 million compared to his $66.4 million a year ago.
dividend: The Company announced that it will pay an annual cash dividend of $0.29 per ADS on July 12, 2024.
“We believe the first quarter will be the lowest point of the year and expect sales to begin to recover in the second quarter, particularly in the automotive sector. Demand acceleration is on the horizon, and we expect business momentum to continue to improve steadily throughout the second half of the year,” said Jordan Wu, president and chief executive officer of Himax.
“The automotive display market is experiencing a megatrend of increasing volume, size, and sophistication of in-vehicle displays as flashy displays increasingly become key selling points for automakers. Automotive Display ICs As a leader in the business, Himax is poised to benefit from this trend, which will result in higher content value per vehicle for display semiconductor vendors like us, and is expected in the coming years. It means sustainable growth,” Jordan concluded. Mr. Wu.
Q2 Guidance: HIMX expects net revenue to increase 8.0% to 13.0% sequentially versus expectations of $219.75 million. We expect gross margin to be between 31.5% and 33.5%. This was primarily due to sales and EPADS in the Automotive and Tcon businesses increasing $0.13 to $0.17 versus expectations of $0.09.
Price action: At last check on Thursday, HIMX stock was trading 10% higher at $5.74.
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This article Himax Tech CEO calls the first quarter the low point and predicts a surge in sales for the automotive sector.
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