Mirle Lands Big-ticket Orders for Automation Equipment

Taipei, March 6, 2008 (CENS)--Thanks to the acquisition of orders for production equipment from two largest-sized firms of TFT-LCD (thin film transistor-liquid crystal display) in January, Mirle Automation Corporation, Taiwan's leading supplier of automation equipment and technologies, will see sales grow over 20% this year, according to a projection made by a domestic institutional investor.

Mirle said it posted NT$65 million (US$2.09 million at US$1:NT$31) in pretax earnings, or NT$0.42 (US$0.01) in pretax earnings per share, in January, up 5% year-on-year. But the company saw sales reach NT$380 million (US$12.25 million) in January, down 4% from a year earlier. The company registered NT$5.31 (US$0.17) in EPS last year.

The company attributed the growth in earnings to its involvement in high-margin products by adopting advanced flat-panel glass-cutting technologies.

The reduction in capital spending by domestic TFT-LCD manufacturers last year has impacted the sales and earnings performance of relevant equipment suppliers, including Mirle. But the company noted it is little impact by the TFT-LCD sector's squeezed investment because 60% of its orders came from other sectors.

To address the fast evolution of downstream industries, Mirle has taken an aggressive attitude toward developing advanced products for solar energy and optical industries. For instance, since the fourth quarter of last year the company has consistently shipped solar-energy production equipment to relevant domestic manufacturers.

Mirle said it has landed a big order from a domestic customer of optical lens. The company is preparing to develop second customers in this line in the second quarter.

Both Taiwan and mainland China have shown demand for automation equipment. Mirle noted that mainland China's automobile, food processing and TFT-LCD industries have seen increase in demand for automation equipment.