Primax Electronics Ltd. (4915 TT / 4915.TW) announced today its consolidated December revenue of NT$6.69 billion, which is a 12.9% year-on-year (YoY) gain and a 1.9% month-on-month (MoM) decline. For the full year 2021, total revenue reached NT$71.65 billion, up 5.0% YoY. 

Thanks to improvements in component shortages, Primax’s 4Q21 revenue reached NT$20.4 billion, which is a 15.3% quarter-over-quarter (QoQ) gain. With 9M21 EPS already reaching NT$4.00, and gross margin and operating margin likely to improve on a half-on-half (HoH) basis in 2H21, Primax expects 2H21 EPS to exceed the first half, likely reaching a historical high figure for the company in 2021; this is the result of continuous product and client mix changes, with efforts to drop low margin businesses and focus on higher margin new products. The result is earnings growth outstripping revenue growth in 2021, with improvements in gross and operating margins. 

For 2022, for new businesses, after years of cultivating, Primax expects 2022 to be a harvest year, with revenue from new products contributing significantly more and the proportion of new products as a percent of revenue will continue to increase in 2022. For AR/VR and other related Metaverse products, Primax is a supplier of camera modules and other components and we will work closely with three ankor customers in hopes of growing this business significantly in the future. Car electronics will continue to be the bright spot as ADAS camera modules for EVs will remain strong, Primax expects car ADAS revenue growth will outpace our major client Tesla’s growth rate in 2022, backed by wallet share gains from new project wins at multiple production sites. Starting from 2022, other major EV clients such as Rivian could also inject multiple years of growth to our car ADAS business. With component shortages easing off, policy body camera revenue should see strong growth in 2022 as shipment delays would be a non-issue going forward. Demand for AIoT products such as smart door lock, surveillance, and fitness products will also surge. Apart from the aforementioned growth drivers for 2022, Primax is also actively engaged with Metaverse, with aims of becoming a long-term and reliable supplier of camera modules and that this new business would be a significant revenue contributor in the next few years.

Furthermore, Primax expects hybrid work to become a trend, which will continue to support demand for NBs. Coming off a lower base due to Covid, MFP/printer should also see strong demand in 2022. For the Audio segment, due to component shortages in 2H21, delayed shipment has led to less-than-expected revenue and earnings. Once component shortages have eased off and with more revenue contributions from higher margin professional audio products, Tymphany should see stronger revenue and margin recovery in 2022.

Primax is also upgrading its manufacturing capabilities by moving towards Smart Manufacturing via Industrial 4.0 concept. With Thailand’s plant now completed and in the final stages of relocation, Primax expects the new plant to be cost competitive soon and become an important strategic manufacturing site outside of China that provides flexibility and efficiency in the long-run.