Member Info for Lindon

Seems even the mighty O-film's thin film operations are feeling the pressure from the in-cell makers. Siu Han, Taipei; Alex Wolfgram, DIGITIMES [Thursday 11 December 2014] China-based touch panel maker Shenzhen O-film Tech, in view of shrinking orders from China-based smartphone vendors due to increasing competition from in-cell touch panels produced by Japan Display (JDI), Sharp, Samsung Display and LG Display, plans to begin production of fingerprint recognition modules for use in smartphones at an initial monthly production capacity of four million units in the second quarter of 2015. The move would make O-Film the largest China-based maker for the product as it changes its business model. Previosuly, O-Film saw 20 million in shipments but has since seen that number drop to 15-16 million as competitiors have bumped up in-cell touch panel production. As demand for smartphones in the China market has turned weak in the second half of 2014, smartphone vendors have high inventory levels and clearing of inventories is expected to continue until the first quarter of 2015. Such developments in addition to the increased competition have prompted O-Film to lay off about 10,000 employees. O-Film has also reportedly seen its market share with Lenovo drop signifcantly. According to China-based media reports, O-Film held a 70-80% share for Lenovo's handset touch panels throughout most of 2014 but that percentage has now dropped to 15% due to product delivery issues. O-Film may also have to pay Lenovo a CNY500 million (US$80.95 million) fine as a result, the reports added. O-Film held a 22.1% share in the thin-film touch panel market during the first half of 2014, according to statistics from IEK.

These events have a strict time limit which each companies presenter has to stick to... its more a prepared statement & marketing tool for professional investors & not normaly used as a news release for new product launches. They do have a limited Q & A session after they have read out their prepared remarks on how great the company is... & occasionally they might get given an awkward question to answer. I find them a bit more 'honest' than the quarterly earning calls which always appear to me to be somewhat bland & stage managed. I've never heard one of the analysts get really stuck into a company rep with awkward questions on any earnings call i ever listened too. Atmel are always given a very easy ride by the analysts.

Dec 3, 2014 11:15 AM UK NASDAQ OMX 31st Investor Program Speaker: Steve Skaggs, SVP & CFO Location: The Waldorf Hilton Listen to webcast Dec 9, 2014 9:20 AM PT Barclays Capital Global Technology Conference Speaker: Steve Skaggs, SVP & CFO Location: Palace Hotel Listen to webcast http://ir.atmel.com/events.cfm

Foxconn has answered Apple’s call for an increase in capacity by committing to building a huge display production plant in Taiwan that will be used solely to supply the company with units. The firm will fork out some NT$80 billion [£1.66 billion] over the next couple of years to construct a complex that is slated to open for production by the end of 2014, according to Bloomberg. Innolux Corp, Foxconn’s display unit, will build the sixth-generation plant at its Kaohsiung Science Park campus in Taiwan and Sophia Cheng, PR representative at the unit, stated that the factory would generate 2,300 jobs. Foxconn already has a number of dedicated factories in Mainland China to assemble iPhones and iPads although this is the first such location purely dedicated to individual components inside Apple’s devices. Prior to the launch of the new iPhone 6 and 6 Plus in September, the firm’s plant in Zhengzhou, China churned out a combined total of 540,000 smartphones per day, which was its highest daily output ever, yet that still didn’t meet the demand for preorders. Apple has tried to tap companies for exclusivity before when it went head-to-head against Qualcomm to try and secure capacity from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co [TSMC] for the manufacture of chips. On that occasion both firms were rebuffed, although Apple has had success gaining priority supplies of memory chips from Samsung and sapphire glass from GT Advanced Technologies. The latter deal involved Apple paying $578 million [£369 million] to supply furnaces to secure the supply and it all went sour when GT applied for bankruptcy protection in October with a settlement hearing set to take place next month. (NOTE: Apple have agreed in the bankrupcy court to allow GT pay off the £360m prepayment in interest free instalments. Maybe a similar amicable agreement could be arranged for whatever remains of Carclo's upfront prepayment from Atmel) Securing an exclusive agreement for iPhone parts is important as the devices are often similar in availability to gold dust in the early weeks and having a supply of displays on tap will make it even easier for Apple to meet the phenomenal demand Read more: http://www.itproportal.com/2014/11/21/foxconn-apple-exclusive-plant/#ixzz3JzmYyDzg

Remember Nokia, the big name in phones for the last billion years? Well, now it's back! Back! BACK! - er, sort of. The Nokia N1 tablet looks like an iPad mini, runs Android and isn't actually made by Nokia. It's the first fruit of a licensing deal that lets Foxconn use the brand in exchange for big piles of money, and while Nokia did contribute the design it has no intention of making or marketing its own kit any more.

iPhone 6 models strengthen growth in HD and Full HD smartphone displays, says DisplaySearch Press release; Alex Wolfgram, DIGITIMES [Thursday 20 November 2014] Beginning in the second quarter of 2014, display panel makers significantly reduced prices for high-definition (HD, 720 by 1280) and Full High-Definition (FHD, 1080 by 1920) in-cell and on-cell modules, which coupled with the release of iPhone 6, has prompted the increased adoption of HD and FHD smartphone displays, according to DisplaySearch.

Supply chains gearing up for expected flexible display demand in 2015 Sammi Huang, Taipei; Alex Wolfgram, DIGITIMES [Wednesday 19 November 2014] Following developments by Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics to produce devices with flexible displays, panel makers from China, Taiwan and Japan, and related component supply chains are reportedly bumping up efforts to meet expected flexible display demand in the high-end smartphone market in 2015. As the smartphone market continues to mature and vendors look to product differentiation, new innovations particularly for panels and related components will be key going into 2015, said industry sources. Panel makers will aim to use a roll-to-roll production method to reduce costs and further develop touch area for new devices and also expect the technology to be used in smartwatches released in 2015. Panel makers also expect that flexible displays will be used in tablet, vehicle, notebook and even TV applications in the future, the sources added.

Vectura Group plc Approval in Ireland and Czech Republic for innovative respiratory inhaler AirFluSal® Forspiro® · Regulatory authorities in Ireland and Czech Republic grant marketing authorisation for AirFluSal® Forspiro® · Approval for 50-250 µg and 50-500 µg dosage forms · AirFluSal® Forspiro® already launched in four European countries and South Korea Chippenham, UK - 19 November 2014: Vectura Group plc (LSE: VEC; "Vectura" or "the Company") confirms that our partner, Sandoz, has been granted marketing authorisation by the regulatory authorities in Ireland and the Czech Republic for AirFluSal®Forspiro®, an innovative new inhaler for patients with asthma and/or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The receipt of the Czech Republic marketing authorisation by Sandoz triggers a milestone payment to Vectura of €1.5 million. The latest marketing authorisations by the two EU member states means that AirFluSal® Forspiro® has now been approved in a total of 15 European countries, as well as South Korea and Mexico. The product has been launched in four countries to date, including South Korea. Ireland and the Czech Republic both approved AirFluSal Forspiro in the 50-250 µg and 50-500 µg dosage forms. AirFluSal® Forspiro® offers the proven combination of salmeterol (a long-acting inhaled β2-agonist) and fluticasone propionate (an inhaled corticosteroid) in an innovative new device. The product's safety, efficacy and equivalence have been proven in multiple clinical trials. Vectura initially developed the VR315 product and created the design of the innovative inhaler, before licensing the asset to Sandoz in 2006. It was subsequently developed in collaboration with Vectura as AirFluSal® Forspiro® by Aeropharm GmbH in Rudolstadt, Germany, Sandoz's global respiratory Center of Excellence. The innovative and intuitive-to-use design of the inhaler was awarded the Red Dot Product Design award in 2011, an internationally recognised quality seal awarded by the Design Zentrum Nordrhein Westfalen in Essen, Germany. -Ends- http://otp.investis.com/clients/uk/vectura1/rns/regulatory-story.aspx?&cid=301&newsid=457246

They weren't the only ones gocarclo. ALL the so called experts throughout the industry never imagined that the technical challenges of enabling One Glass Solution (OGS) in-cell, on-cell. Sensor on Lens (SOL) to be used in larger screen sizes would be able to be overcome. Larger screens have always been the preserve of ITO on glass, which is a very expensive production process... STILL is... and when XSense was envisaged... ITO on film was unheard of. Within the next couple of years even the present days winners will be obsolete. Graphene will be the take over. My wish is that Carclo get out from this side of the industry completely & the sooner the better IMO. Once its realised they are out... the sp will find the higher sp level that the fast growing core businesses & the exciting expectations that CDS deserves... Its now only the uncertainty of what may happen that will continue to is hold it back until there is a proper resolution.

... its a result of integration & partnership with Foxconn! Foxconn are a massive company, things they make & are well known for are microchips, touch controllers & sensors! They were chosen as one of three sensor suppliers for the Apple iPhone 2 & still supply Apple with chips & touch controllers, they are also huge in the low & mid end developing countries markets.

The BIG problem for Atmel is they have already invested somewhere in the region of $17m. Don't underestimate THEIR need to also get a return on that investment... & exactly why you can be sure they have pulled out all the stops to try & get XSense adopted. I can't see anyway they would now want to also spend out on buying Carclo's coated film production facilities living in the hope that something, somewhere, may happen. ALSO why bother? Even Samsung can't make a profit out of their devices.... no other player can... except for Apple. I think it has to be accepted that the world has turned quite radically in the last 12 months. Absolutely everyone has cut their profit margins to the bone in an effort to sell their devices... The lesser player are now selling at a loss.... hence the desperate fight to become fully integrated with others... and prices are STILL falling. This industry is no longer worth the candle... even if XSense somehow started gaining traction the profits made out of it would be almost none existent no matter who produces what! IMO with a £21m write down Carclo have in all but name also written it off... unless something comes out of the woodwork between now & end of March that is almost certainly where the SR will lead them. The question now is if their advisors can come up with a way of making it a fiancially painless extraction. As Carclo have just said... they & Atmel have contractual obligations & they are now under consideration by both sides. Hopefully some mutually amicable agreement for withdrawal will be found.

gocarclo... it really doesn't matter WHO makes XSense or any other GF solution... whoever it was would still have to compete with the vastly reduced production costs of in-cell. A panel (LED) maker who builds the sensor into & at the same time as building the LED panel will beat a production line that needs to incorporate a separate piece of film in the stack with the sensor printed on it. FAR simpler & FAR less production costs... & the benefit of being an even thinner stack solution giving excellent operational & opticle quality. High end mobile phones have always had this OR an on-cell solution sensor... (Both those solution costs have fallen by half) XSense NEVER was intended to compete with those solutions in mobile phones... BUT both those solutions have historically had severe yield problems (which causes horrendous wastage & contributes substantially to overall production costs) ... In the lather form factors above around a 4-4/half inch size screen. THAT is why Atmel/Carclo ALWAYS emphasised that the differentials for XSense was invented for screens above that size. Because of the extraordinary technical advances made by the established ODM's AND the invention of being able to produce ITO on film... in-cell is no longer restricted to phones... it can now be installed in larger, thinner screens. In-cell yields have very substantially improved & ITO on film is far cheaper than copper on film because the traditional ITO on glass makers were able to alter their production lines to produce ITO on film at very little extra disruption & CapEx. As Carclo openly stated earlier this year.... THOSE technical & price differentials which WERE available in the larger screen sizes, are NO LONGER available. That situation would apply to anyone else which might be interested in buying XSense technology. The ONLY scenario I hope for is that Atmel might want to keep some continuing option open to produce coated film for any possibility that might arise in other fields in the future... i.e. auto consoles etc.. Maybe some arrangement could be made whereby Carclo get some royalties should something like that happen... one thing for sure tho... Carclo cannot afford to keep idle production lines in place on the hope something happens in the future. Atmel do have a limited coated production facility in Colorado... It was intended as a back up for Cambridge.

... the above report is yet another indication why IMO Carclo would be better off getting out of the non-profit making mobile device sensor industry completely... & concentrating all their efforts on growing CDS & the rest of the core businesses.

Samsung Display, the display-making affiliate of Samsung Electronics, will launch a flexible display for smartphones that can be folded in half, a senior company executive said. "We will secure production capacity of 30,000 to 40,000 [flexible displays each month] by the end of next year," said Lee Chang-hoon, vice president of business strategic team, Samsung Display, during Samsung Investor Forum 2014 in New York. "There will be no company [except Samsung] that has this great production capacity by 2016. "We plan to provide consumers with a product that has a flexible display by the end of the year. However, nothing has been decided on the finished product," added Lee. Samsung Electronics is planning to expand its product line of flexible-display smartphones following the warm reception of the Galaxy Note Edge, which has a curved display that wraps around its side. Samsung Display is currently expanding production capacity of its A3 line, which produced the curved display for the Edge. (NOTE: The Samsung EDGE is SUPER AMOLED... SAMOLED is an in-cell solution, not GF (glass film) Samsung Display make the WHOLE sensor stack which includes the sensor INSIDE the display panel. Atmel/Car cannot compete with this! LG also have their own in house in-cell sensor making facility for their own devices & also flog it to others including for Apple iPhones & iPads. Other in-cell makers include Japan Display & Sharp Corp. they also supply Apple PLUS other OEM's. Lee also said that the company is planning to lower production costs of AMOLED, which is currently more expensive than LCD, to lure more customers. "One of the superior things about AMOLED is that [because it has no backlight] it can become cheaper to produce compared to LCD. We are prepared to compete directly with LCD," he said. "AMOLED is similar in price to LCD, but better capability wise. We are confident that more people will buy AMOLED," he added. Samsung Display will also lower reliance on its big brother, Samsung Electronics, by increasing the market for its AMOLED. NOTE: AMOLED is an on-cell solution... not GF (glass film!)

This extract is from 2013/14 results. NOTE: "Premiums that WERE available are NO LONGER available!" Since Carclo produced this this report earlier this year... well after their FIRST profit warning... sensor prices have AGAIN dropped and are STILL dropping. This is why no-one wants XSense! Nothing whatsoever to do with Atmel sitting on the sidelines. Atmel's own CapEx for XSense is said to be around $17m. If it comes to a complete stop they will have to have their own write down! Rest assured... if they could sell it... they certainly would do! During the financial year there were significant changes within the touch industry as a result of new competitors entering the market and latterly as a result of ITO vendors both lowering ITO prices and also improving electrical performance of these materials. It has been widely reported that there are over 20 companies now claiming to have metal mesh technologies. In practice competition has come mainly from a Japanese and a Chinese metal mesh manufacturer. In order to gain market share our competitors have priced aggressively against ITO based touch sensors, in particular the single layer One Glass Solution ("OGS") and the more mature Glass Film Film ("GFF") versions. A combination of lower pricing and an aggressive purchasing stance from the OEMs, who are looking to include touch functionality as a standard content into the portable computer segment, has reduced the effective price of touch sensors by around half during the last twelve months. Premiums that were available for larger sensors, (i.e. those over 10"), due to the historical difficulty in manufacturing at these sizes with ITO, are no longer available.

Why doesn't the Nokia have XSense? Probably for the same reason that no other OEM wants it & for exactly the same reasons Carclo have been explaining why they have had to have this write down! Its NOT because Atmel are sat on the side lines twiddling their thumbs its because XSense is too expensive & Atmel cannot force Nokia or anyone else to buy what they don't want. Nokia have chosen some other sensor solution costing half the price so they can sell their tablet at a competitive price to the end user which gives them all the differential points they could possibly want! "As previously reported, the market for touch sensors is proving to be more competitive than was initially expected and selling prices have continued to decline to approximately half of prior year levels. Asian competition remains strong with low pricing offered by a Japanese and a Chinese metal mesh supplier and also the "One Glass Solution", using lower cost ITO"

One positive aspect of a write down... there'll also be a pretty significant reduction in payment to the tax man! The problem for the sensor is that its been developed to the nth degree, the yields have also been improved to a position where its likley that there is simply no more advancements that can be made. It was intended to be price competitive with high end ITO and it WAS. With the advent of ITO on film ITO sensor selling prices dropped by 50% & together with very rapid technical advancements... that have been made in under 12 months... means that the price & tech differentials that existed for XSense havent just been eroded... they are are no longer in existence. Difficult to see how they can get a return on the investment & a continuation of the "excellent technology that we have created".... AND prices are STILL dropping. Samsung are now considering dropping SAMOLED prices & have also asked other vendors to reduce prices by 30%. IMO Carclo are best off calling it quits altogether & getting out of it completely. The world has turned & there is simply no profit to made. " Whilst sales have tracked our H1 expectations the increasing price pressure from the sector has brought into question the sustainability of our current business model. Our contractual relationship with Atmel results in mutual obligations which need be considered by both parties. Nonetheless we remain committed to reaching a clear and positive outcome for the group on or before our year end. We continue to work together with Atmel and have appointed our own advisors to assist us as we look to both eliminate the risk of future losses and ensure the maximum level of return from our investment and the continuation of the excellent technology that we have created".

gocarclo... its a capitalised write down for Cit... nothing more. Its something that simply had to done, it was quite correct that it was written down due to lack of adoption & the auditors would have insisted on it... it had been well over capitalised due to 'expectations'. Its investors expectations which drove the price up to totally unrealistic levels before anything appeared on the market. Peel Hunt & that Edison recommondation report from rivaldo will bring a load of new interest & investors to the table. Remember that XSense is not yet dead but it IS as far as the sp is concerned, IF ANYTHING should now develops from coated film it will be a REALISTIC bonus & the sp will shoot up in a heartbeat. That will be a bonus if it happens... but the real blue sky hopes for a recovery to the previous high sp levels & even beyond now rest on CDS. IF that becomes as sucsseful has it has the potential to be... 500p will be left far behind & it is that prospect that will now drive the sp in an upwards direction. Ive found Peel Hunt to be a conservative broker... they are a broker for one of my other holdings... I've always had much more faith in them than Liberium. The Edison report from rivaldo also says it like it is IMO.

... price target = 130p

Bringing in a new broker is a good move... should lead to new investors coming on board but they're going to have to decrease that debt pile in order to entice them. CIT losses have more than made up for increases in the core businesses & that is only going to continue happening... a new equity issue of some discription in order to clean the slate will be the eventual outcome IMO. Also good that they went for the full write down which draws a line in the sand & they are exploring ways to see if it can continue... but it was several years profits down the pan. The only way for coated film now is either up or discontinued so at least no more uncertainty... although ending the exclusivity agreement with Atmel could be costly if that is what happens. That agreement is obviously now under consideration. Judging by the virtually no immediate change in the sp it seems that the market called it about right over the last month. No mention of printed electronics, probably because there is nothing much happening on that side at the moment, but also because that will be incorporated in the full SR. We shall have to see if investor expectations for CDS starts to have an upward impact on the sp... an "exciting breakthrough" & partnership with an American major... maybe a referral to Accelerate Dignostics... is a big positive for hopes of success. Overall a good report... with the sp now somewhere around 'base' level & withncreasing growth & revenue streams from the core & reports of continuing success in CDS... market sentiment should now start to improve... I think this is now a buy.