Touch panel makers TPK Holding and Wintek are expected to see their gross margins improve starting the second quarter of 2012 along with rising shipments of the newly released iPad, according to industry sources.

TPK saw its gross margin drop to 13.9% in the fourth quarter of 2011 due to a rise in the shipment ratio of low-margin on-cell touch panels in the quarter, said sources, noting that on-cell touch panels accounted for 64% of TPK's shipments of small-size touch panels in the fourth quarter compared to 50% in the previous quarter.

Wintek is expected to report a loss of up to NT$400 million (US$13.53 million), or NT$0.20-0.30 per share, for the fourth quarter of 2011 due to investment losses and a reduction in asset value, the sources noted.

However, buoyed by the launch of new iPads, shipments of touch panels from TPK and Wintek will continue to gain momentum, which will be instrumental to help the two firms improve their profitability from the second quarter, the sources commented.