Himax Technologies (NASDAQ: HIMX) reported Q2 EPS of $0.01, $0.02 better than the analyst estimate of ($0.01). Revenue for the quarter came in at $187 million versus the consensus estimate of $179 million.

“Our reported second quarter results exceeded guidance for revenues, gross margin and EPS, consistent with our preliminary results reported on July 6, 2020. During the quarter, higher demand of large display drivers for monitors and greater-than-expected shipment volume for both smartphone and tablet contributed to the better-than-guided sales.” said Mr. Jordan Wu, President and Chief Executive Officer of Himax.

“While Covid-19 does not look to be going away anytime soon, most countries have greatly eased lockdowns while still taking measures to contain the spread of the virus. Although the pandemic has brought major disruptions to the markets we operate in, many of our panel customers have been fast to react to the changing environment by quickly shifting their production to where the demands are. What that reflected in our business is the very strong sales for notebook and monitor markets in the first half with the momentum now switching to TV and smartphone, while tablet is set to stay robust throughout the whole year. While businesses have been largely reopened, a big part of the society still stays mostly at home with much of the activity being operated online. The “stay-at-home” economy has proven to benefit several consumer electronics markets to which we supply our products. Our demand visibility has therefore been much improved from the first half.” concluded Mr. Jordan Wu.

GUIDANCE:

Himax Technologies sees Q3 2020 EPS of $0.02-$0.028, versus the consensus of ($0.02).

While Covid-19 does not look to be going away anytime soon, most countries have greatly eased lockdowns while still taking measures to contain the spread of the virus. Although the pandemic has brought major disruptions to the markets Himax operates in, many of the Company’s panel customers have been fast to react to the changing environment by quickly shifting their production to where the demands are. What that reflected in Himax’s business is the very strong sales for notebook and monitor markets in the first half with the momentum now switching to TV and smartphone, while tablet is set to stay robust throughout the whole year. While businesses have been largely reopened, a big part of the society still stays mostly at home with much of the activity being operated online. The “stay-at-home” economy has proven to benefit several consumer electronics markets to which we supply our products. Himax’s demand visibility has therefore been much improved from the first half. However, the industry is going through a severe foundry capacity shortage right now which is limiting the growth in almost all of the Company’s businesses, especially the smartphone and tablet TDDI as well as CMOS image sensor products.

Separately, Himax is working towards capitalizing on the Company’s unique non-driver technologies where it has invested heavily in the last few years, notably 3D sensing for smartphone and smart door lock as well as ultralow power smart image sensing for products such as notebook, TV, doorbell and air conditioner.

As indicated in the Company’s guidance, it now expects a strong top line growth for Q3. Himax's next goal is to improve its gross margin. This will be an important target for Q4 and next year.

For earnings history and earnings-related data on Himax Technologies (HIMX) click here.