Hsinchu, Taiwan,
AUO Corporation ("AUO"or the "Company") (TAIEX: 2409; NYSE: AUO) today announced unaudited results for 4Q 2006 and the FY 2006. For the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2006, AUO’s consolidated revenue reached NT$94.6 billion (*US$2.9 billion), net income NT$1.7 billion (US$51 million), and basic EPS NT$0.19 per common share (US$0.06 per ADS unit).
Fourth Quarter Results
AUO reported the following u naudited consolidated results for the fourth quarter：
- Revenues up 32.7 % QoQ to NT$94.6 billion
- Net income of NT$1.7 billion
- Earnings per share (basic EPS) of $0.19 per common share (US$ 0.06 per ADS)
- Gross margin of 8.1 %
- Operating margin of 3.0 %
The 4Q2006 panel shipments of large-sized panels were in accordance with the Company’s guidance revised on December 7, 2006, and broke the historical records. Shipments of large-sized panels increased 31.7% to 16.6 million from 3Q, and reached a remarkable YoY growth of 72.9%. In the mean time, shipments of small- to medium-sized panels amounted to 24.5 million with a 17.7% increase from 3Q, up 54.1% from a year earlier.
Full Year Results
For the full year of 2006, consolidated revenue reached NT$293.1 billion (US$9.0 billion), net income NT$9.1 billion (US$279 million), and basic EPS NT$1.41 per common share (US$0.43 per ADS). The large-sized panel shipment grew a 59.1% YoY to 48.8 million units; while the small- to medium- sized panel shipment posted a 46.6% YoY increase to 79.2 million units.
"After the completion of merger with Quanta Display Inc. (QDI), the loss of QDI for the previous two quarters of 2006 has been turned around through the better product integration and cost structure, even though we amended the rate of fab loading in 4Q because of an early sign of controlling year end inventory from some of our customers,” said Mr. Max Cheng, Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of AUO.
"Additionally, we posted little profit gain and maintained a stable EBITDA margin for the fourth quarter and reached the gross margin of 8.1% and operating margin of 3.0%, which is able to show our determination to increase profitability through merger synergies."
*Amounts converted by an exchange rate of NTD32.59:USD1 as of December 31, 2006.
Yawen Hsiao
Corporate Communications Dept.
AUO Corporation
No.1, Li-Hsin RD 2, Science-Based Industrial Park,
Hsinchu City 300, Taiwan, R.O.C.
Tel：+886-3-500-8899 ext：3211
Fax：+886-3-5772730
Email：yawenhsiao@auo.com