Taiwan-based Leatec Fine Ceramic, which mainly manufactures chip resistor substrates, expects sales to the automotive and LED segments to climb substantially starting the third quarter of 2012.

Leatec revealed that new capacity is scheduled to come online in the second quarter, with its focus on ceramic substrates for LED lighting and automotive electronics applications.

Gross margin for standard ceramic substrates used in chip resistors is between 20% and 30%, but automotive applications offer a margin as high as 35-45%, Leatec added. The company expects to see increased contributions from its automotive related products in 2012.

As for the core business, Leatec indicated it has placed strong emphasis on substrates for small-size chip resistors, whose adoption in consumer technology products has been growing.

Leatec estimated that revenues for the fourth quarter would register flat sequential growth. Monthly sales have been recovering from the bottom seen in September, the company said.

Looking forward, Leatec expects revenues to decrease in January 2012 due to fewer working days during the Lunar New Year holiday. But revenues will return to a sequential growth track in February and March, the company said.

Source:digitimes