South Korean vendors who supply smartphone camera components to Samsung Electronics saw mixed results in the first quarter, according to data from the country’s fiance watchdog collected by The Elec.
Those that supplied camera modules to Samsung saw huge sales growth in the quarter, but those that provide lens all posted losses, according to their filings to the Financial Supervisory Service.
Camera module makers’ sales rise but profitability fall
MCNEX, Cammsys and Namuga, which supply camera modules, all saw double-digit growth in their sales in the first quarter.
MCNEX saw sales increase by 47.2% from a year ago, posting 369 billion won. Cammsys saw revenue rise 74.8% and Namuga 127.4%.
Their supply for Samsung’s Galaxy S20 series’ front and rear cameras likely helped to surge.
But operating profits were lower than expected. MCNEX only saw an increase of 0.6% in operating profits from a year ago, while Cammsys saw a rise of 4.8%. Namuga turned to black but saw operating profitability lower than 1%.
The dent in profitability was likely caused by Samsung Mobile’s efforts to increase its own margin rate. The South Korean tech giant has been assembling more camera modules on its own this year compared to last year.
Partron, another module supplier to Samsung, saw sales increase 9.3% in the first quarter from a year ago while operating profits dropped 54.5%. The company is supplying less modules to the South Korean behemoth compared to a year ago, people familiar with the matter said.
PowerLogics and Haesung both turned to the red and saw sales fall 32.3% and 15.6%, respectively.
Lens makers see large dip in earnings
Earnings of Lens suppliers, however, drastically differed from those of their module counterparts.
Sekonix saw revenue drop 18.3% from a year ago, posting 86.3 billion won in sales in the first quarter. Diostech, Kolen and Digitaloptics saw sales drop 28.6%, 32.5% and 57.3%, respectively.
All the companies posted losses in the quarter.
The decline is a result of Samsung Electronics purchasing more lens from China’s Sunny Optical and Taiwan’s Largan Precision, people familiar with the matter said.
Samsung Electronics is focusing on expanding sales of its Galaxy A series due to mediocre sales of its flagship Galaxy S20 series, sources within the company told TheElec.
Lens makers’ performance throughout the rest of the year will depend on how much of their goods they can supply to Samsung for the Galaxy A series and its derivatives.
