LG InnoTek is increasing its spending in its camera module production facilities which it credited to demand rise from its customer.
The South Korean component maker said on Thursday that it will raise its spending plan for this year from 547.8 billion won to 835.5 billion won, which is a 53% increase.
LG InnoTek said it increased the amount to expand its production capacity from an increase in demand from its customer.
It didn’t name the customer in its announcement but it is most likely Apple, its major customer for camera modules.
LG InnoTek is currently supplying camera modules for the iPhone 13 series and will also provide those for iPhone SE 5G launching next year.
The increase in spending shows that the company will likely supply more camera modules to Cupertino than it expected.
Rival O’Film of China was removed from Apple’s camera module supply chain last year, while its other rival Sharp is facing production problems due to its factory in Vietnam being shut down.
This has increased the number of camera modules that the South Korean company provides to Apple.
Sharp was also facing trouble applying sensor shift technology that Apple has applied to all four models of the iPhone 13 series, people familiar with the matter said.
The technology uses the image sensor rather than the lens for image stabilization.
For iPhone 12, Apple had only applied it to iPhone 12 Pro Max, and the camera module that supports the technology was supplied by LG InnoTek.
LG InnoTek’s shares in Cupertino’s camera module market is expected to exceed 70% this year. Last year it provided around half of the camera modules used in iPhones.
Meanwhile, the company is also supplying the 3D time of flight module that Apple plans to use for their virtual reality headset.
LG InnoTek has previously supplied time of flight modules for iPad Pro last year and iPhone 12 Pro lineups.
Apple has also applied time of light lidar on its iPhone 13 Pro lineup which it says supports augmented reality in a 5G environment.
Meanwhile, Chinese original design manufacturer Wingtech acquired O’Film’s camera module business.
