Taiwan-based SMD LED packaging service provider Advanced Optoelectronics Technology (AOT) will actively promote sales of SMD LED packaging for lighting applications and expects the revenue proportion for LED lighting in 2015 to double the related level from 2014, according to the company.

While other Taiwan-based LED packaging service providers have seen revenue proportions for LED lighting increase to 20-30% due to fast growing demand for LED lighting, AOT's 2014 LED lighting revenue proportion was less than 5%, the company said.

Due to large decreases in shipments of SMD LED backlighting to South Korea-based smartphone vendors, AOT saw its gross margin for the third quarter of 2014 drop by 7.5 percentage points on quarter and by 9.4 percentage points on year to 12.43% and the corresponding net profit of NT$61 million (US$2.0 million) slumped by 52% on quarter and by 75% on year, the company indicated. However, SMD LED backlighting shipments rebounded in December and as a result fourth-quarter gross margin rose to 15-20%, the company said.

Due to increasing adoption of high-power flip-chip LED backlighting, the proportion of all LCD TVs for direct-type LED backlighting is expected to rise from over 50% in 2014 to 70% in 2105, AOT said. In 2015, AOT is expected to obtain orders for LED backlighting of smartphones from new China-based clients including Lenovo, Oppo and Coolpad and orders for large-size LED backlighting from China-based TFT-LCD panel makers including BOE Technology, according to stock market analysts. Thus, AOT is expected to see 2015 consolidated revenues grow on year by 15-20%, the sources said.