News Article
Nichia forecasts 20% sales growth during 2004
GaN-based LED and laser manufacturer Nichia Corporation expects to record sales of 220 billion yen ($2.1 billion) during its current fiscal year ending December 31, 2004, according to a report in the Nihon Keizai Shimbun newspaper in Japan.
This will represent a growth in sales of around 18% compared with the 180 billion yen ($1.7 billion) that Nichia is expected to record for 2003. Of this figure, about 80% came from LEDs.
Nichia expects that its pre-tax profit will be close to 100 billion yen in 2004, up from 80 billion yen in 2003. Nichia’s sales grew by 40% in 2003 compared with the previous year.
The company expects that its earnings will be boosted by new white LEDs with greatly improved brightness, which it plans to begin shipping soon.
Growth in demand for LEDs used in mobile phone handsets and digital cameras is expected to slow during this fiscal year, but the automotive and gaming machine markets are expected to expand.
Nichia plans to invest 20-30 billion yen in its plant in Anan, Tokushima prefecture, to expand its LED production facilities, and will also increase its workforce by about 8% to almost 3500.
