For the fourth quarter of 2023, Catcher Technology saw its consolidated revenue plunge 23.7 percent sequentially to NT$3.307 billion, or 50.2 percent year-over-year. The quarter-on-quarter decline indicates the underwhelming peak season and weak terminal demand that the sector faced; combined with the product transition period and clients’ year-end inventory adjustments, the entire industry saw the same and it led to Catcher reporting an after-tax net loss of NT$701 million for the quarter, marking a continual deepening both quarterly and annually.
For the full year of 2023, Catcher’s revenue came to NT$18.074 billion, or 202.29 percent less than the previous year, with the recurring weak demand across the board responsible. The average gross profit margin couldn’t escape, falling 4.6 percentage points to 27.3 percent. While the company moved to adjust its product mix and reduce its depreciation expense and so forth, it still reported an after-tax net profit of NT$9.151 billion, a 16.6 percent drop over the year-ago period, with earnings per share (EPS) of NT$13.33.
Looking ahead, Catcher is cautiously optimistic for 2024, expecting a gradual recovery starting in the second half, driven by the Windows 11 upgrade cycle and the emerging AI PC market. The consumer business line has kicked off mass production of high-end consumer models for brand clients since Q1, expecting post-Lunar New Year shipment momentum.
The company’s roadmap for the next decade in its transformation plan is to stabilize its profits in the short term via consumer electronics on the enterprise side, with laptops. The company will also carve out application markets for its core products and continue to develop technology innovations. Catcher’s goal is to devote itself to high growth, high profit, high barriers industries such as medical materials and semiconductor equipment components by looking for suitable partnership and investment opportunities both domestically and internationally to guide its long-term development.
