03.26.2001
March shipment to double for Amtran

• Amtran (5405 'Rui Xuan') has indicated March revenue will reach around NT$800m, for 32% MoM growth. The growth is mainly driven by LCD monitor shipment in the month, tipped to double to over 40k units, a record high monthly figure.

• Amtran confirms that the decline in TFT-LCD prices is happening much faster than expected. The 15-inch LCD panel price has already fallen to between US$280-330, something we did not expect to see until 2H01. --Taking the lower LCD monitor ASP into account, we have adjusted our sales forecast on Amtran. We revise our 2001 revenue forecast down 5.3% to NT$11.6b from NT$12.2b, and 2001 net profit to NT$477m (EPS of NT$2.94) from NT$523m (EPS of NT$3.23), a decrease of 8.8%.

• The company reported losses of NT$45m in January, due to exchange loss and reduced revenue on the fewer working days in the month. In February, Amtran booked profits of NT$31m.

• We expect profits in March to continue to grow on strong monitor shipment and exchange gains. We maintain our HOLD recommendation. MarthaChen@Primasia.com (886 2) 2547-8878

MarthaChen@Primasia.com +886-[0]2-2547-8878