Taipei, Feb. 1, 2010 (CENS)--Market recovery and product quality improvement helped Wellypower Optronics Corp., a backlight joint venture between China Electric Mfg. Co., Ltd. and AU Optronics Corp. of Taiwan, rake in sizable profits in the fourth quarter of 2009, thereby catapulting the company`s annual revenue into profit zone from loss ground.

The lamp maker, which makes cold cathode fluorescent lamps (CCFLs), T5 light tubes, and light emitting diode (LED) modules, earned NT$274 million (US$8.5 million at US$1:NT$32), or NT$1.62 per share, in after-tax net income in the fourth quarter alone, soaring 72% from a quarter earlier and 369% year on year.

The hefty profit surge helped swell the company`s 2009 pre-tax net profit to NT$218 million (US$6.8 million), or NT$1.76 per share, compared with the NT$4.04 million (US$126,375) it had throughout 2008.

Last quarter alone, the company scored consolidated revenue of NT$1.9 billion (US$62 million), consolidated gross operating income of NT$262 million (US$8.1 million) and consolidated net operating income of NT$295 million (US$9.2 million).

The fourth-quarter revenue helped float the company`s 2009 revenue to NT$9 billion (US$221 million), increasing 22.48% from 2008.

On product mix basis, CCFL constituted NT$1.5 billion (US$48 million) of the company`s Q4 2009 revenue, slipping 5% quarter on quarter; LED accounted for around NT$387 million (US$12 million), contracting 10% from a quarter earlier; and lighting products commanded NT$61 million (US$1.9 million), surging 41% quarter over quarter.

Wellypower`s executives said the robust demands for backlights, mostly driven by a strong LCD TV market, has continued into 2010.

In addition to backlights, the company has retrofitted its lamps for lighting fixtures in a bid to increase revenue and earnings. For its lighting operation, the company plans to boost output of LED packages to 100 million units a month from current 40 million units and LED light bars to three million units a month.

(by Ken Liu)