What happened
Shares of Himax Technologies (HIMX 2.18%) have jumped today, up by 12% as of 12:40 p.m. EST, after the company pre-announced preliminary fourth-quarter earnings results. The display technology specialist enjoyed a better-than-expected quarter to close out 2019.
So what
Revenue in the fourth quarter came in at $174.9 million, representing a sequential increase of 6.5%. Himax's guidance from November called for revenue to be "around flat sequentially," and the company has been providing cautious commentary all year regarding its core display driver business. "As we look forward, although at this time we have limited visibility, we do not anticipate the business environment to improve in the near term," CEO Jordan Wu said at the time.
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Gross margin in the fourth quarter was 20.6%, up from 19.5% in the third quarter and roughly in line with Himax's outlook. Adjusted earnings per American depositary share (ADS) are now expected to be in the range of 0.6 cents to 0.9 cents, compared to an adjusted loss of 2.7 cents to 4.2 cents per ADS.
Now what
Himax also said it recognized a $3.8 million revaluation gain associated with "an investment in an AI related start-up made during November of 2017." That refers to a $10 million Series A funding round for Kneron that Himax participated in. That gain was not factored into Himax's guidance and is being included in its adjusted results.
The company will report full fourth-quarter results in February, when investors can expect to hear more commentary from management about which part of the business outperformed.
