Radiant Now Sole Backlighting Supplier for Apple's iPad Air 2

Due to higher technical threshold of Apple's new iPad Air 2 tablet PC, Radiant Opto-electronics Corp., a major supplier of flat panel display (FPD) backlighting modules based in Taiwan, has become the sole supplier, according to industry sources.

Two Taiwanese companies, including Radiant and Coretronic Corp., supplied such backlighting for Apple's iPad Air.

Reportedly the world's thinnest tablet, the iPad Air 2 at only 6.1mm thick has totally changed its display. Unlike earlier displays of protective glass, touch panel, and liquid crystal display (LCD), the new tablet has a three-in-one integrated display to eliminate inter-layer gaps as well as upgrade color rendering and image quality, hence the higher technical threshold for backlighting module. The display-panel supplier to the iPad Air 2 include LG Display and Samsung of South Korea.

Apple kicked off shipments of the new tablet in September, industry sources said, and Heesung Electronics Ltd. of South Korea is expected to supply the backlight module in 2015.

Thanks to rising shipments of backlighting modules for iPad Air 2, Radiant registered revenue of NT$4.73 billion (US$157.8 million) in September, up 22.3% month-on-month (MoM) and a 3.4% year-on-year (YoY) increase. The company delivered 6.27 million tablet backlighting modules in the month, up 62% MoM. Radiant's Q3 revenue grew 21.2% quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) to NT$13.02 billion (US$434 million), and some institutional investors forecast Q4 figure to  challenge NT$16 billion (US$533.3 million). Apple is scheduled to push the 12.9% iPad in H1, 2015, which is expected to further upgrade Radiant's revenue.

Though not in the iPad Air 2 supply chain, Coretronic delivered a total of 26.3 million backlighting modules in Q3, up 19% QoQ, with cumulative shipments in the first three quarters of 69.5 million units, up 23% YoY.

Industry sources said, however, that Coretronic's shipments in Q4 might be affected from decreased shipments to Apple and Sony, whose TV sales this year are lackluster.