Simplo Reportedly to Supply Batteries for Microsoft Surface Tablets
2014/11/26 | By Steve ChuangWith banner performance so far this year, Simplo Technology Co., Ltd., Taiwan-based globally leading supplier of batteries mainly for consumer electronics, has reportedly been contracted by Microsoft Corp. to supply batteries for Surface tablets to help drive sales in 2015, according to industry sources.
Despite declining to confirm the reports, Simplo's chairman, Raymond Sung, revealed that his company has garnered adequate orders for next year, hence being quite optimistic about business prospects.
Simplo has reportedly begun shipping batteries for Surface 2 tablets to Microsoft since October, with single-month shipments reaching 200,000 units, with more orders likely to come for batteries for wearable electronic devices in the near future, noted industry insiders.
The maker supplies batteries to globally prestigious branded vendors of tablets, including Amazon, Apple, Lenovo, Asus, Dell and HP, with shipments to Apple making up the majority of the total.
The order from Microsoft will further boost the battery maker's shipment beginning next year, given that about 1-2 million units of Surface tablets are needed globally a year.
As for smartphone batteries, Sung indicated that the company targets promoting to Asus and several American customers. Based on his observation, the chairman believes that smartphones with screens of between 4.7 and 5 inches are particularly popular with businesspersons in Europe and the U.S. and hence most likely to remain the mainstream models in the future, to be also Simplo's target market.
After scoring EPS (earnings per share) of NT$2.8 (US0.09) for Q3 to add to its Jan.-Sept. EPS of NT$7.69 (US$0.25), Simplo optimistically forecasts for Q4 revenue and net profits to reach NT$18.6 billion (US$620 million) and NT$1.044 billion (US$34.8 million), respectively, with single-quarter EPS of NT$3.22-3.99 (US$0.1-0.13). For 2014, revenue and EPS are estimated at over NT$60 billion (US$2 billion) and NT$11.08 (US$0.369), respectively. (SC)
| Simplo's Performance in 2014 by Quarter | |||
|
| Q1
| Q2
| Q3
|
| Revenue
| NT$12.130 Bn.
| NT$13.642 Bn.
| NT$15.212 Bn.
|
| Net Profits
| NT$756.23 M.
| NT$753.77 M.
| NT$861.99 M.
|