TCL Corporation: Q1 2015 Net Profit at US$160 Million

SHENZHEN, China, April 30, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- TCL Corporation announced its financial results for the first quarter of 2015 on April 26^th. The group achieved revenue of US$3.795 billion during the reporting period, up 10.19% year-on-year. Net profit was US$160 million, while net profit attributable to shareholders reached US$123 million. Excluding non-recurring gains and losses, net profit attributable to shareholders was US$86 million, a rise of 299.65% from a year earlier. TCL realized strong growth in Q1 performance for the third straight year, which was attributed by the group to the continuous improvement in the profitability of TCL subsidiary China Star Optoelectronics Technology (CSOT), the continued growth of its smartphone business, and the solid performance of its venture capital business.

CSOT Maintains High-Growth in Profit

In the first quarter, in line with the continued positive performance of the LCD panel industry overall, CSOT delivered excellent results across all business indicators. During the quarter, CSOT maintained production at full capacity and sold all goods produced during the period. The division produced 406,000 glass substrates, a 10.4% rise year-on-year. Sales of LCD panels and modules totaled 6.14 million units, generating sales revenue of US$695 million. Net profit reached US$101 million, up 68.9% year-on-year.

Meanwhile, the first 55" Cu+COA panel produced on CSOT t2 facility's production line passed QA on March 13^th. The facility was put into full production on April 24^th. The construction of the t3 plant is progressing smoothly.

Communication business experiences steady growth

Despite the severe competition across global smartphone markets, the group's communication business maintained excellent growth. TCL Communication Technology recorded sales revenue of US$870 million for the first quarter, up 23.1 per cent from a year earlier. The company recorded net profit of US$24 million for the same period, up 5.76 per cent year on year. As the proportion of high-and-mid-end smart products keeps increasing, the average selling price of the company's products increased to US$54.70 for the same period, up from US$52.20 for the same period of last year.

According to sources, TCL Communication Technology continued expanding its global market share through the constant optimization of the design and functionality of its products, deepening relationships with communication operators and expanding online channels. The company recorded a year-over-year increase of 43 per cent in North America and 54 per cent in South America in sales volume of smart devices. Meanwhile, it experienced a rapid year-over-year increase of 133 per cent in the Middle East and 200 per cent in Africa in the sales volume of smart devices. At the 2015 spring new product launch event held on April 8^th, the company launched the symmetrically-designed IDOL 3 smartphone, a phone which can be held with either side facing the ear when taking calls. The company also released the Alcatel OneTouch Watch, the world's first iOS- and Android- compatible smart wearable device. The watch is expected to prove to be a highly competitive product.

As of the end of March, 2015, the company's mobile Internet application platform had 8.20 million active users, with service revenue up 135 per cent year on year to US$716,400. The platform is expected to continue to significantly grow its user base this year, with the related service revenue on track to increase in tandem.

Smart TV business sees continuous improvement

TCL'smultimedia business reported strong gains in the first quarter of this year, with improvements both in financial results and business operations. In the first three months of 2015, TCL Multimedia Technology generated sales revenue of US$1.069 billion and net profit of US$6.0402 million, an increase of 184.6 percent from the same period a year ago.

As part of its business strategy, TCL focused on curved surface, large screen, ultra HD, quantum dot technology-based wide color gamut and other medium- and high-end products, in a move to optimize its product mix. The proportion of sales attributed to online increased from 7.8 percent in the year-earlier period to 11 percent in the first quarter of 2015, while product gross margin rose by 1.51 percent year-on-year to 15.23 percent.

TCL Multimedia Technology also made significant progress in the building of the internet ecosystem. The company recently unveiled its E6800 True Colour Series Module TV, which enabled the customization andacceleration in the release of new iterations of smart TVs with a swappable smart card, representing a breakthrough in the technology behind the large screens being installed in the world's living rooms. In addition, TCL maintained its rapid growth in the number of end-users of its smart internet TVs. By the end of March, 2015, the company had 7.77 million active smart internet TV users with 2.9 million daily active users on average, as well as 640,000 monthly active users of its game platform and 430,000 WeChat-linked TV users. 

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SOURCE TCL Corporation