Japanese LED maker Nichia Corporation released a press release on the 25th, announcing that due to the continued strong demand for LEDs for lighting and backlight modules, and the expansion of LED applications in various fields such as automobiles and industrial equipment, the market forecast It is estimated that it will further expand, so it is decided to build a new plant in the factory area of Naruto Factory (Naruto City, Tokushima Prefecture) and increase the production capacity of LED application products, thereby maintaining the top market share in the LED market.
Nichia pointed out that the new plant will start construction in August 2018 and is expected to be completed on May 31, 2020. The total investment (including the cost of plant construction and equipment introduction) is estimated to be about 16 billion yen. Later, it is estimated that the production capacity of LED applications in the Naruto factory in 2021 will be doubled to the current level.
Nikkei News reported that white LEDs are the main source of revenue for Nichia, but as Chinese and Taiwanese LED manufacturers expand their production capacity, price competition has intensified, so Nichia will strengthen high value-added applications such as automotive, lighting, and LCD LED product business.
According to reports, Nichia's Naruto factory currently produces LED packaging and LED application products, and the new plant will serve as a specialized factory for LED application products. Nichia's LED semiconductor-based photo-semiconductor division reported revenue of 275.3 billion yen in 2017, and it is estimated that 2018 revenue will increase 9% annually to 300 billion yen.
Nichia announced in its business plan on April 23 that it will increase sales of lithium-ion battery materials for electric vehicles (EVs), expand China / European automotive LED market share, and expand sales of lasers used as projector light sources Diodes (LD, Laser Diode) aim to increase consolidated revenue to 500 billion yen in 2020.
Nichia estimates that 2018 consolidated revenue will increase by 21% to 420 billion yen, consolidated net profit is estimated to be 50 billion yen, and equipment investment is expected to increase by 40% to 77 billion yen. "To maintain a high double-digit (10% or higher) interest rate," Nichia President Ogawa Yui told a press conference on April 23.