Hon Hai Saw Monthly Sales Rebound NT$100 B. in March

Taipei, April 14, 2008 (CENS)--Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Taiwan's largest electronics subcontract maker, saw monthly sales rebound by NT$100 billion (US$3.27 billion at US$1:NT$30.5) to register NT$104.2 billion (US$3.41 billion) in March.

Major subsidiaries of the Hon Hai family, including Q-Run Technology Corp., InnoLux Display Corp. and Pan-International Industrial Corp., each saw quarterly sales grow over 30% in the first quarter, with such substantial growth in first-quarter sales showing that the Hon Hai-family has been spared by the serious U.S. subprime mortgage crisis.

Hon Hai Precision saw March sales grow 18.8% year-on-year and up 12.7% from the preceding month, achieving the sixth-highest monthly sales in history. The company scored NT$301.8 billion (US$9.89 billion) in cumulative sales in the first quarter of this year, up 22.3% year-on-year but down 27.1% from a historic high in the fourth quarter of last year.

Its effective hedge against the sharp appreciation of the N.T. dollar since the beginning of this year will enable Hon Hai to likely challenge NT$3 (US$0.098) in earnings per share in the first quarter of this year.

An institutional investor estimated Hon Hai would see EPS reach NT$13 (US$0.426) last year. The company is expected to distribute NT$6 (US$0.196) in cash dividend this year, translating into an earning yield of 3.2%.

As its major client, Apple Computer is preparing to introduce the newest-version third-generation iPhone cellphones with annual shipment topping 10 million units, so Hon Hai is expected to see substantial growth in shipment in the months to come. But Hon Hai will probably see sales bottom out in the first quarter of this year but achieve significant growth in sales in the second quarter of this year.

After weathering doldrums in the fourth quarter of last year, Q-run saw monthly sales hit NT$13.29 billion (US$435.73 million) in March, up 44.2% year-on-year and up 36.2% from the preceding month. The company had cumulative sales of NT$35.38 billion (US$1.16 billion) in sales in the first quarter of this year, up 32.3% annually from NT$26.7 billion (US$875.4 million).