奇景光電 (HIMX) 2021 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Hello, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the Himax Technologies Inc. Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2021 Earnings Conference Call. (Operator Instructions). As a reminder, this conference is being recorded. I would now like to turn the conference over to your host, Mr. Mark Schwalenberg from MZ Group.

你好，女士們，先生們。歡迎參加 Himax Technologies Inc. 2021 年第四季度和全年收益電話會議。 （操作員說明）。提醒一下，本次會議正在錄製中。我現在想將會議轉交給您的主持人，來自 MZ Group 的 Mark Schwalenberg 先生。

Thank you. Welcome, everyone, to Himax's Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2021 Earnings Call. Joining us from the company are Mr. Jordan Wu, President and Chief Executive Officer; Ms. Jessica Pan, Chief Financial Officer; and Mr. Eric Li, Chief IR/PR Officer.

謝謝你。歡迎大家參加奇景光電 2021 年第四季度和全年財報電話會議。加入我們公司的是總裁兼首席執行官Jordan Wu先生；傑西卡潘女士，首席財務官；以及首席投資者關係/公關官 Eric Li 先生。

After the company's prepared comments, we have allocated time for questions in the Q&A session. If you have not yet received a copy of today's results release, please e-mail himx@mzgroup.us, access the press release on financial portals or download a copy from Himax's website at www.himax.com.tw.

公司準備好意見後，我們安排了問答環節的提問時間。如果您尚未收到今天發布的業績副本，請發送電子郵件至 himx@mzgroup.us，訪問財經門戶網站上的新聞稿或從 Himax 網站 www.himax.com.tw 下載副本。

Unless otherwise specified, we will discuss our financials based on non-IFRS measures. You can find the related reconciliation to IFRS on our website. Before we begin the formal remarks, I'd like to remind everyone that some of the statements in this conference call, including statements regarding expected future financial results and industry growth, are forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from those described in this conference call.

除非另有說明，否則我們將根據非 IFRS 措施討論我們的財務狀況。您可以在我們的網站上找到與 IFRS 的相關對賬。在我們開始正式發言之前，我想提醒大家，本次電話會議中的一些陳述，包括有關預期未來財務業績和行業增長的陳述，是涉及許多風險和不確定性的前瞻性陳述，可能導致實際結果或事件與本次電話會議中描述的結果或事件存在重大差異。

These factors include, but are not limited to, the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Company's business; general business and economic conditions and the state of the semiconductor industry; market acceptance and competitiveness of the driver and nondriver products developed by the Company; demand for end-use applications products; reliance on a small group of principal customers; the uncertainty of continued success in technological innovations; our ability to develop and protect our intellectual property; pricing pressures including declines in average selling prices; changes in customer order patterns; changes in estimated full year effective tax rate; shortage in supply of key components; changes in environmental laws and regulations; changes in export license regulated by Export Administration Regulations, (EAR); exchange rate fluctuations; regulatory approvals for further investments in our subsidiaries; our ability to collect accounts receivable and manage inventory and other risks described from time to time in the Company's SEC filings, including those risks identified in the section, entitled "Risk Factors" in its Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2020, filed with the SEC as may be amended.

這些因素包括但不限於 COVID-19 大流行對公司業務的影響；一般商業和經濟狀況以及半導體行業的狀況；公司開發的驅動和非驅動產品的市場接受度和競爭力；對最終用途應用產品的需求；依賴一小部分主要客戶；技術創新持續成功的不確定性；我們開發和保護我們的知識產權的能力；定價壓力，包括平均售價下降；客戶訂單模式的變化；估計全年有效稅率的變化；關鍵零部件供應短缺；環境法律法規的變化；出口管理條例 (EAR) 規定的出口許可證變更；匯率波動；對我們子公司進一步投資的監管批准；我們收集應收賬款和管理庫存的能力以及公司提交給美國證券交易委員會的文件中不時描述的其他風險，包括截至 2020 年 12 月 31 日止年度的 20-F 表格中標題為“風險因素”的部分中確定的風險, 向美國證券交易委員會提交，可能會被修改。

Except for the company's full year of 2020 financials, which were provided in the company's 20-F and filed with the SEC on March 31, 2021, the financial information included in this conference call is unaudited and consolidated and prepared in accordance with IFRS accounting. Such financial information is generated internally and has not been subjected to the same review and scrutiny, including internal auditing procedures and external audits by an independent auditor, to which we subject our annual consolidated financial statements and may vary materially from the audited consolidated financial information for the same period.

除了公司 20-F 中提供並於 2021 年 3 月 31 日向 SEC 提交的公司 2020 年全年財務數據外，本次電話會議中包含的財務信息未經審計，並根據 IFRS 會計進行合併和編制。此類財務信息由內部生成，並未接受相同的審查和審查，包括獨立審計師的內部審計程序和外部審計，我們對年度合併財務報表進行審計和審查，並且可能與經審計的合併財務信息存在重大差異同一時期。

The company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

公司不承擔因新信息、未來事件或其他原因而公開更新或修改任何前瞻性陳述的義務。

I will now turn the call over to Mr. Eric Li. Eric, the floor is yours.

我現在將把電話轉給 Eric Li 先生。埃里克，地板是你的。

Thank you, Mark. Thank you, everybody, for joining us. My name is Eric Li, and I am the Chief IR/PR Officer. Joining me are Jordan Wu, our CEO; and Jessica Pan, our CFO.

謝謝你，馬克。謝謝大家加入我們。我叫 Eric Li，是首席 IR/PR 官。加入我的還有我們的首席執行官 Jordan Wu；和我們的首席財務官Jessica Pan。

On today's call, I will first review the Himax consolidated financial performance of the fourth quarter and full year 2021, followed by the first quarter 2022 outlook. Jordan will then give an update on the status of our business, after which we will take questions.

在今天的電話會議上，我將首先回顧 Himax 2021 年第四季度和全年的綜合財務業績，然後是 2022 年第一季度的展望。喬丹隨後將提供我們業務狀況的最新信息，之後我們將回答問題。

Our fourth quarter revenues were at the upper end of the guidance range, while gross margin and EPS both exceeded the guidance issued on November 4, 2021. The fourth quarter revenues, gross margin and EPS all reached new records. Full year 2021 revenues surpassed $1.5 billion, along with record gross margin and EPS. For the fourth quarter, we recorded net revenue of $451.9 million, an increase of 7.4% sequentially and an increase of 63.9% compared to the same period last year.

我們第四季度的收入處於指導範圍的上限，而毛利率和每股收益均超過了 2021 年 11 月 4 日發布的指導。第四季度的收入、毛利率和每股收益均創下新紀錄。 2021 年全年收入超過 15 億美元，毛利率和每股收益均創歷史新高。第四季度，我們錄得淨收入 4.519 億美元，環比增長 7.4%，與去年同期相比增長 63.9%。

Gross margin was 51.8%, an increase from the already high level of 51.7% in the third quarter and above our guidance of around 50%. Non-IFRS profit per diluted ADS was 84.9 cents, exceeding the estimates of 78.0 cents to 83.0 cents. IFRS profit per diluted ADS was 81.5 cents, higher than guidance range of 74.5 cents to 79.5 cents.

毛利率為 51.8%，高於第三季度 51.7% 的高水平，高於我們約 50% 的指導。非國際財務報告準則每攤薄 ADS 利潤為 84.9 美分，超出預期的 78.0 美分至 83.0 美分。 IFRS 每攤薄 ADS 利潤為 81.5 美分，高於 74.5 美分至 79.5 美分的指導範圍。

Revenue from large displays driver was $125 million in Q4, up 6.3% sequentially and nearly double year-over-year. Monitor revenue came in better than expected, up more than 30% sequentially, ahead of our prior guidance of a more than 20% increase, due to accelerated orders for high-end monitor from certain end customers. Notebook sales continued strong growth momentum, delivering double-digit sequential growth as a result of strong shipment of high-end products toward leading notebook vendors.

第四季度來自大型顯示器驅動器的收入為 1.25 億美元，環比增長 6.3%，同比增長近一倍。顯示器收入好於預期，環比增長超過 30%，高於我們之前預測的增長 20% 以上，原因是某些最終客戶對高端顯示器的訂單加速。筆記本電腦銷量繼續保持強勁增長勢頭，由於高端產品向領先筆記本電腦供應商的強勁出貨，實現了兩位數的環比增長。

As expected, the fourth quarter TV IC revenue was down single digits sequentially on the backdrop of sluggish global TV market. In some cases, where TV customers who borne shipment liability to us and suffered business headwinds, under mutual content, we redirected their allocated foundry capacity towards IT displays where demand stayed strong. It was through such efficient operating execution that we were able to achieve sales growth for the large display driver business despite the slow TV market and further reinforce the business relationship with strategic customers.

正如預期的那樣，在全球電視市場低迷的背景下，第四季度電視 IC 收入環比下降個位數。在某些情況下，對我們承擔運輸責任並遭受業務逆風的電視客戶在相互支持的情況下，我們將他們分配的代工產能重新分配給需求保持強勁的 IT 顯示器。正是通過如此高效的運營執行，我們得以在電視市場低迷的情況下實現大屏驅動業務的銷售增長，進一步加強了與戰略客戶的業務關係。

Large panel driver IC accounted for 27.7% of total revenues for the quarter compared to 27.9% in the third quarter of 2021 and 23.3% a year ago.

大型面板驅動 IC 佔本季度總收入的 27.7%，而 2021 年第三季度為 27.9%，一年前為 23.3%。

Small and medium-sized display driver saw resilient sales with revenue of $276.6 million, up 9.6% sequentially and up more than 50% year-over-year. The automotive segment has repeatedly been the fastest growing sector among our small and medium-sized display driver segment with sales up more than 20% sequentially this quarter. It's worth highlighting that the e-paper business, another product in our small and medium-sized driver lineup and one of the decent margin, enjoyed more than 80% sequential growth in Q4. Small and medium-sized driver IC segment accounted for 61.2% of total sales of our quarter compared to 59.9% in the previous quarter and 64.5% a year ago.

中小型顯示驅動器的銷售表現強勁，收入為 2.766 億美元，環比增長 9.6%，同比增長超過 50%。在我們的中小型顯示驅動器細分市場中，汽車細分市場一再成為增長最快的細分市場，本季度銷售額環比增長超過 20%。值得一提的是，電子紙業務是我們中小型司機陣容中的另一款產品，也是可觀的利潤率之一，在第四季度實現了超過 80% 的環比增長。中小型驅動IC部分佔本季度總銷售額的61.2%，上一季度為59.9%，一年前為64.5%。

In Q4, smartphone, tablet and automotive driver businesses contributed about the same sales with automotive significantly outgrowing the other two segments, a trend that we believe will continue over the next few years. The fourth quarter smartphone sales reached $91.3 million, up double digits sequentially and up more than 30% compared to the same period last year due mainly to higher shipments to key customers despite the outbreak of COVID-19 variants, weighing down the worldwide smartphone market. The smartphone segment represented around 20% of our total sales in Q4. Our supply for smartphone was still limited by the total capacity accessible to us, where we could only support shipment to select end customers.

第四季度，智能手機、平板電腦和汽車驅動業務貢獻了大致相同的銷售額，而汽車業務的銷售額顯著超過其他兩個細分市場，我們認為這一趨勢將在未來幾年持續下去。第四季度智能手機銷售額達到 9130 萬美元，環比增長兩位數，與去年同期相比增長超過 30%，這主要是由於儘管 COVID-19 變體爆發，但對主要客戶的出貨量增加，拖累了全球智能手機市場。智能手機部分占我們第四季度總銷售額的 20% 左右。我們的智能手機供應仍然受到我們可用的總容量的限制，我們只能支持向選定的最終客戶發貨。

Amidst a slow tablet market, our tablet revenue reached $85.8 million, a decline of single digit sequentially, but up around 30% year-over-year. The decline was caused by shrinking traditional DDIC shipments, while TDDI sales were slightly better than record level in Q3 and represented the eighth consecutive quarter of growth since initial production from the first quarter of 2020. We maintained our leading market share position in the non-iOS tablet market with accelerated TDDI penetration among leading name brands.

在平板電腦市場放緩的情況下，我們的平板電腦收入達到 8580 萬美元，環比下降個位數，但同比增長約 30%。下降的原因是傳統 DDIC 出貨量萎縮，而第三季度 TDDI 銷售額略好於創紀錄水平，是自 2020 年第一季度開始投產以來連續第八個季度增長。我們在非iOS 平板電腦市場在領先品牌中加速 TDDI 滲透。

Tablet revenue in the quarter accounted for 19% of total sales. Our fourth quarter revenue for automotive set another record, amounting to $89.1 million, up more than 20% sequentially and up more than 130% year-over-year, thanks to our strong shipment in high-end DDIC product, rising TDDI shipment as well as market share gains across numerous automotive customers. As panel inside vehicle continue to grow in quantity, size and include more advanced features, we expect to see sustainable, robust growth in our automotive business.

本季度平板電腦收入佔總銷售額的 19%。我們第四季度的汽車收入再創紀錄，達到 8910 萬美元，環比增長超過 20%，同比增長超過 130%，這得益於我們在高端 DDIC 產品的強勁出貨量以及 TDDI 出貨量的增長隨著眾多汽車客戶的市場份額增加。隨著車內面板的數量、尺寸和更先進的功能不斷增長，我們預計我們的汽車業務將實現可持續、強勁的增長。

Fourth quarter revenue from our non-driver business was $50.3 million, slightly down sequentially and up around 50% year-over-year. We are pleased to report that our ultralow power AI image sensing total solution successfully entered into mass production in Q4 last year for a major tech name over a mainstream application. We reached this major milestone in just one year after we delivered the first samples, a remarkable achievement and an illustration of the robustness of our AI solution.

我們的非司機業務第四季度收入為 5030 萬美元，環比略有下降，同比增長約 50%。我們很高興地報告，我們的超低功耗人工智能圖像傳感整體解決方案於去年第四季度成功進入量產，成為主流應用的主要技術名稱。我們在交付第一批樣品後僅一年就達到了這一重要里程碑，這是一項了不起的成就，也是我們 AI 解決方案穩健性的一個例證。

CMOS image sensor sales were up mid-teens, while Tcon business decreased by low teens sequentially as a result of slow demand in TV and the Chromebook. However, on a year-over-year basis, Tcon sales were up more than 70%, a reflection of our leading position across 4K/8K TV, gaming monitor and the low-power notebook. Non-driver products in Q4 accounted for 11.1% of total revenues, as compared to 12.2% in the third quarter of 2021 and 12.2% a year ago.

由於電視和 Chromebook 的需求放緩，CMOS 圖像傳感器的銷售額增長了十幾倍，而 Tcon 業務則環比下降了十幾倍。然而，與去年同期相比，Tcon 的銷售額增長了 70% 以上，這反映了我們在 4K/8K 電視、遊戲顯示器和低功耗筆記本電腦方面的領先地位。第四季度非驅動產品佔總收入的 11.1%，而 2021 年第三季度為 12.2%，一年前為 12.2%。

Non-IFRS gross margin for the fourth quarter sustained at high level of 51.8%, a continuation from 51.7% of last quarter and greatly increased from 31.2% of the same period last year. The higher gross margin was a reflection of better mix towards high-end products area and a more favorable IC pricing environment resulting from tight foundry capacity.

第四季度非國際財務報告準則毛利率維持在51.8%的高位，延續上季度的51.7%，較去年同期的31.2%大幅提升。較高的毛利率反映了對高端產品領域的更好組合以及由於代工產能緊張導致的更有利的 IC 定價環境。

IFRS gross margin was also 51.8% for the quarter. Our non-IFRS operating expenses for the fourth quarter was $48.5 million, up 9.1% from the previous quarter and up 11.5% from a year ago. The sequential increase was a result of a onetime cash bonus at the end of December to further reward employees for the remarkable financial results, while the year-over-year increase was caused mainly by increased salary.

本季度的國際財務報告準則毛利率也為 51.8%。我們第四季度的非國際財務報告準則運營費用為 4850 萬美元，比上一季度增長 9.1%，比去年同期增長 11.5%。環比增長主要是由於12月底一次性現金紅利，以進一步獎勵員工的出色財務業績，而同比增長主要是由於工資增加所致。

IFRS operating expenses were $56 million for the fourth quarter, down 18.2% from the preceding quarter, but up 27.9% from a year ago. The difference was mainly due to annual bonus compensation, which we award employees at the end of September each year. Reflecting the higher sales and better gross margin, the fourth quarter non-IFRS operating income was $185.5 million or 41.1% of sales versus 41.2% of sales in the last quarter. Again, the Q4 operating income reached a historical high. Non-IFRS after tax profit was $148.4 million or 84.9 cents per diluted ADS, a new record high and the increase from $138.9 million or 79.5 cents per diluted ADS, last quarter.

第四季度國際財務報告準則運營費用為 5600 萬美元，比上一季度下降 18.2%，但比去年同期增長 27.9%。差異主要是由於我們在每年9月底獎勵員工的年度獎金補償。第四季度非國際財務報告準則營業收入為 1.855 億美元，佔銷售額的 41.1%，而上一季度為 41.2%，這反映了更高的銷售額和更好的毛利率。第四季度營業收入再次創歷史新高。非國際財務報告準則稅後利潤為 1.484 億美元或每股攤薄 ADS 84.9 美分，創歷史新高，高於上一季度的 1.389 億美元或每股攤薄 ADS 79.5 美分。

Now let's have a quick review on the 2021 full year financial performance. Revenues totaled $1,547.1 million in 2021, representing 74.4% growth over that of 2020. The ongoing efforts of the pandemic, coupled with the foundry capacity shortage, created a challenging operating environment, yet also provided favorable conditions for IC vendors, such as ourselves, with overall market demand far outpacing supply.

現在讓我們快速回顧一下2021年全年的財務表現。 2021 年收入總計 15.471 億美元，較 2020 年增長 74.4%。疫情的持續努力，加上代工產能短缺，創造了充滿挑戰的經營環境，但也為像我們這樣的 IC 供應商提供了有利條件。整體市場需求遠遠超過供給。

Among our 3 major product categories, small and medium-sized display drivers posted the highest growth of 86.8% in 2021, with sales totaling $963.5 million. We saw extraordinary business momentum, particularly in tablet and automotive sales in 2021 as the leading non-iOS tablet brands, all adopted our tablet TDDI solutions, and automotive displays continued to evolve a rapid rate in the number, size and the sophistication.

在我們的 3 個主要產品類別中，中小型顯示驅動器在 2021 年的增長率最高，達到 86.8%，銷售額總計 9.635 億美元。我們看到了非凡的業務勢頭，尤其是在 2021 年的平板電腦和汽車銷售方面，領先的非 iOS 平板電腦品牌都採用了我們的平板電腦 TDDI 解決方案，汽車顯示器在數量、尺寸和復雜性方面繼續快速發展。

Automotive sales enjoyed the highest growth among all product lines in 2021, up more than 110%, while sales for tablet IC, our top sales contributor in 2021, grew 77%. Smartphone and e-paper sales were up more than 85% and 23%, respectively, in 2021. Revenue for large panel display drivers totaled $397.9 million in 2021, representing annual growth of 65.3%.

2021 年，汽車銷量在所有產品線中增長最高，增長超過 110%，而平板電腦 IC 的銷量增長了 77%，而平板 IC 是我們 2021 年的最大銷售貢獻者。 2021 年，智能手機和電子紙的銷售額分別增長了 85% 和 23% 以上。2021 年大面板顯示驅動器的收入總計 3.979 億美元，年增長率為 65.3%。

During the pandemic, the surge in IT demand boosted our notebook display IC sales significantly, up more than 370%, whereas monitor display sales increased more than 30%. TV sales were also up by more than 40% despite the dip in worldwide TV shipments during the second half of the year.

疫情期間，IT需求的激增帶動了我們的筆記本顯示IC銷量大幅增長，增長超過370%，而顯示器顯示銷量增長超過30%。儘管今年下半年全球電視出貨量下降，但電視銷量也增長了 40% 以上。

Non-driver products sales totaled $185.7 million, an increase of 42% from last year. The increase was mainly from Tcon sales, more than double amidst growing needs for high frame rate and the high-resolution displays. CMOS image sensor business, severely capped by capacity constraints throughout the year, was up mid-single digit from the strong demand in notebook and web camera for work-from-home and online education. This annual sales increase was offset by WLO, wafer level optics, as the legacy product of a major customer gradually decreased.

非驅動產品銷售額總計 1.857 億美元，比去年增長 42%。增長主要來自 Tcon 銷售，在對高幀率和高分辨率顯示器的需求不斷增長的情況下增加了一倍多。由於筆記本電腦和網絡攝像頭對在家工作和在線教育的強勁需求，CMOS 圖像傳感器業務全年受到產能限制的嚴重限制，增長了中個位數。由於主要客戶的傳統產品逐漸減少，這一年度銷售額增長被晶圓級光學器件 WLO 所抵消。

Non-IFRS gross margin in 2021 was 48.5%, greatly increased from 24.9% in 2020. The increase was mainly a reflection of more favorable IC pricing and the product mix resulting from the tight foundry capacity as well as increasing contribution from high-margin product lines, especially in automotive, notebook drivers and Tcon. Non-IFRS operating expenses were $171.5 million, up $15.2 million or 9.7% due to higher salary expenses and a cash bonus, we awarded our employees at the end of December.

2021 年非國際財務報告準則毛利率為 48.5%，較 2020 年的 24.9% 大幅增長。增長主要反映了更有利的 IC 定價和代工產能緊張導致的產品組合以及高利潤率產品的貢獻增加線，特別是在汽車、筆記本電腦驅動器和 Tcon 方面。非 IFRS 運營費用為 1.715 億美元，增加 1,520 萬美元或 9.7%，原因是工資支出增加和現金獎金，我們在 12 月底獎勵了我們的員工。

Despite the NT dollar appreciation against the U.S. dollar during 2021, the currency fluctuation to Himax were of limited impact as our accounting was U.S. dollar-denominated, the same as the bulk of our buying and the selling activities, thereby, creating a new natural hedge. The stronger NT dollar in 2021 did contribute to around $4.6 million of operating expenses increase as we paid the salary of the Taiwan-based employees and much of the Taiwan local incurred expenses in NT dollars.

儘管 2021 年新台幣兌美元升值，但由於我們的會計以美元計價，與我們的大部分買賣活動相同，因此對 Himax 的貨幣波動影響有限，從而創造了新的自然對沖. 2021 年新台幣走強確實促成了約 460 萬美元的運營費用增加，因為我們支付了台灣員工的工資和台灣當地大部分發生的新台幣費用。

Yet, the non-IFRS operating expenses ratio of 2021 was reduced to 11.1% from 17.6% in 2020, indicating our consistent and prudent management of operating expenses. IFRS operating expenses were $203.6 million, up $40.7 million or 25% compared to last year. The increase came mainly from vested portion of the annual bonus compensation we award employees at the end of September each year.

然而，2021 年的非國際財務報告準則營業費用比率從 2020 年的 17.6% 降至 11.1%，表明我們對營業費用的持續和審慎管理。 IFRS 運營費用為 2.036 億美元，比去年增加 4070 萬美元或 25%。增加主要來自我們在每年 9 月底獎勵員工的年度獎金薪酬的既得部分。

Reflecting higher sales and better gross margin, non-IFRS operating income was $578.3 million or 37.4% of sales, an increase of $513.7 million from $64.6 million in 2020. For the same reason, but partially offset by increase of annual bonus compensation, IFRS operating income was $545 million, in contrast to $57.9 million in 2020.

反映更高的銷售額和更高的毛利率，非 IFRS 營業收入為 5.783 億美元，佔銷售額的 37.4%，比 2020 年的 6460 萬美元增加了 5.137 億美元。出於同樣的原因，但部分被年度獎金薪酬的增加所抵消，IFRS 運營收入為 5.45 億美元，而 2020 年為 5790 萬美元。

Our non-IFRS net profit for 2021 was $463.6 million or 265.1 cents per diluted ADS, up $411.2 million from $52.3 million or 30.2 cents per diluted ADS in 2020. IFRS net profit for the year was $436.9 million or 249.8 cents, up $389.8 million from $47.1 million or 27.2 cents per diluted ADS in 2020. The upswing in income was a result of better sales, higher gross margin along with well-managed operating expenses.

我們 2021 年的非 IFRS 淨利潤為 4.636 億美元或每股攤薄後的 ADS 265.1 美分，比 2020 年的 5230 萬美元或每股攤薄後的 ADS 30.2 美分增加了 4.112 億美元。當年的 IFRS 淨利潤為 4.369 億美元或 249.8 美分，比 2020 年增加了 3.898 億美元2020 年攤薄後的 ADS 每股收益為 4710 萬美元或 27.2 美分。收入的上升是由於銷售改善、毛利率提高以及運營費用管理良好的結果。

Turning to the balance sheet, we had $364.4 million of cash, cash equivalents and other financial assets as of December 31, 2021, compared to $201.4 million at the same time last year and the $250.8 million a quarter ago. The higher cash balance was mainly from $182.2 million of operating cash inflow during the quarter and the payments received from customers for the purpose of securing their long-term chip supply, partially offset by payment we made in order to secure our long-term foundry capacity.

轉向資產負債表，截至 2021 年 12 月 31 日，我們擁有 3.644 億美元的現金、現金等價物和其他金融資產，而去年同期為 2.014 億美元，上一季度為 2.508 億美元。較高的現金餘額主要來自本季度 1.822 億美元的運營現金流入以及為確保其長期芯片供應而從客戶那裡收到的付款，部分被我們為確保長期代工能力而支付的款項所抵消.

Restricted cash was $154.1 million at the end of Q4 compared to $156.8 million a quarter ago and $104 million a year ago. The restricted cash was mainly used to guarantee the short-term secured borrowings for the same amount. We had $52.5 million of long-term unsecured loans as of end of Q4, of which $6 million was current portion.

第四季度末受限現金為 1.541 億美元，而上一季度為 1.568 億美元，一年前為 1.04 億美元。受限現金主要用於為等額的短期擔保借款提供擔保。截至第四季度末，我們有 5250 萬美元的長期無抵押貸款，其中 600 萬美元是流動部分。

Our year-end inventory were $198.6 million, up from $160.9 million last quarter and up from $108.7 million a year ago. Amidst tight foundry capacity where demand still outpaces supply, we continue to pursue an aggressive inventory buildup strategy. The vast majority of our inventory position now is comprised of work-in-process goods, while finished goods are promptly shipped as soon as they are available. Accounts receivable at the end of December 2021 was $410.2 million, slightly up from $400.9 million last quarter and up from $243.6 million a year ago due to higher sales.

我們的年終庫存為 1.986 億美元，高於上一季度的 1.609 億美元，高於一年前的 1.087 億美元。在需求仍然超過供應的情況下，我們繼續追求積極的庫存積累策略。我們現在的絕大多數庫存狀況都是由在製品組成，而製成品一旦可用就會立即發貨。由於銷售額增加，截至 2021 年 12 月底的應收賬款為 4.102 億美元，略高於上一季度的 4.009 億美元，高於一年前的 2.436 億美元。

DSO was 97 days at the quarter end as compared to 100 days both a year ago and from last quarter. Fourth quarter capital expenditures were $2 million versus $2.1 million last quarter and $0.8 million a year ago. The fourth quarter CapEx was mainly for R&D-related equipment and in-house tester of our IC design business. Total capital expenditure for the year was were $7.6 million, mainly for design tools, R&D-related equipment as well as in-house tester of our IC design business as compared to $5.8 million in 2020.

季度末 DSO 為 97 天，而一年前和上一季度均為 100 天。第四季度資本支出為 200 萬美元，上一季度為 210 萬美元，一年前為 80 萬美元。第四季度資本支出主要用於我們 IC 設計業務的研發相關設備和內部測試儀。全年資本支出總額為 760 萬美元，主要用於我們 IC 設計業務的設計工具、研發相關設備以及內部測試儀，而 2020 年為 580 萬美元。

As of December 31, 2021, Himax had 174.3 million ADS outstanding, unchanged from last quarter. On a fully diluted basis, total number of ADS outstanding for the fourth quarter was 174.8 million.

截至 2021 年 12 月 31 日，奇景天有 1.743 億股未償 ADS，與上一季度持平。在完全攤薄的基礎上，第四季度未償還的 ADS 總數為 1.748 億股。

Now turning to our first quarter 2022 guidance. Coming off of the record revenue result from Q4 2021, we expect first quarter revenue to decline 5% to 9% sequentially, yet still better than off-season sales, we typically experienced during the Lunar New Year season with fewer working days.

現在轉向我們的 2022 年第一季度指導。鑑於 2021 年第四季度創紀錄的收入結果，我們預計第一季度收入將環比下降 5% 至 9%，但仍好於淡季銷售，我們通常在農曆新年期間遇到工作日較少的情況。

The guided range implies a year-over-year increase of 33% to 39% in revenues. Non-IFRS gross margin is expected to be around 46% to 48% depending on the final product mix. Non-IFRS profit attributable to shareholders is expected to be in the range of 67.0 cents to 73.0 cents per fully diluted ADS, down 21% to 14% sequentially, but up 74% to 90% year-over-year. IFRS profit attributable to shareholders is estimated to be in the range of 63.5 cents to 69.5 cents per fully diluted ADS.

指導範圍意味著收入同比增長 33% 至 39%。非國際財務報告準則毛利率預計約為 46% 至 48%，具體取決於最終產品組合。非國際財務報告準則股東應占利潤預計將在每股完全攤薄後的 ADS 67.0 美分至 73.0 美分之間，環比下降 21% 至 14%，但同比增長 74% 至 90%。根據國際財務報告準則，股東應占利潤估計在每股完全攤薄後的美國存託憑證 63.5 美分至 69.5 美分之間。

I would now like to turn the call over to Jordan. Jordan, the floor is yours.

我現在想把電話轉給喬丹。喬丹，地板是你的。

Thank you, Eric. Our spectacular results in 2021 were achieved, thanks to macro level tailwinds, our efforts to secure solid capacity and the steadfast focus on optimizing product mix and solidifying strategic customer relationships. All of these factors contributed to the record sales and profit margins.

謝謝你，埃里克。我們在 2021 年取得了令人矚目的業績，這要歸功於宏觀層面的順風、我們努力確保穩固的產能以及堅定不移地專注於優化產品組合和鞏固戰略客戶關係。所有這些因素促成了創紀錄的銷售額和利潤率。

Now as we look ahead into 2022, against the backdrop of the industry-wide foundry capacity shortage, which is expected to extend well into 2022, the visibility into certain areas of consumer electronics is rather limited with global consumption potentially impacted by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, port congestion, worldwide inflationary pressure and worries over geographical conflict. However, we are upbeat about our year-ahead growth prospect, backed by a few product areas, notably the automotive and ultralow power AI image sensing businesses, which we feel confident will stay strong regardless of the macroeconomic concerns.

現在展望 2022 年，在整個行業的代工產能短缺（預計將持續到 2022 年）的背景下，由於全球消費可能受到持續的 COVID- 19 大流行、港口擁堵、全球通脹壓力和對地域衝突的擔憂。然而，我們對未來一年的增長前景持樂觀態度，這得益於一些產品領域，尤其是汽車和超低功耗人工智能圖像傳感業務，我們相信無論宏觀經濟擔憂如何，這些業務都將保持強勁。

We anticipate these two product areas, both with good gross margin, will outgrow other product lines in 2022. Robust demand for our traditional automotive driver IC is backed by strong foundry capacity support while automotive TDDI is on track to experience exponential growth throughout 2022 and beyond.

我們預計這兩個具有良好毛利率的產品領域將在 2022 年超過其他產品線。對我們傳統汽車驅動 IC 的強勁需求得到強大的代工產能支持的支持，而汽車 TDDI 有望在 2022 年及以後實現指數級增長.

We expect to reach 10 million units cumulative shipment in automotive TDDI in as soon as the second quarter of this year. In the first quarter of 2022, our automotive product sales, including traditional driver IC, TDDI, Tcon and OLED driver, are expected to represent more than 25% of our total sales. As the contribution of automotive revenue grows, it will better position our long-term product mix in terms of both profit margin and business visibility.

我們預計，最快在今年第二季度，汽車 TDDI 的累計出貨量將達到 1000 萬台。 2022年第一季度，我們的汽車產品銷售額，包括傳統驅動IC、TDDI、Tcon和OLED驅動，預計將占我們總銷售額的25%以上。隨著汽車收入貢獻的增長，它將在利潤率和業務可見度方面更好地定位我們的長期產品組合。

Meanwhile, we are highly encouraged by the early success we have seen with ultralow power AI image sensing business thus far after a leading customer adopted it for a mainstream application. We expect to see more design-wins awarded across a broad customer base and a high variety of applications leading to robust sales growth for this new high-margin product line.

同時，我們對超低功耗 AI 圖像傳感業務在領先客戶將其用於主流應用後的早期成功感到非常鼓舞。我們預計將在廣泛的客戶群和各種各樣的應用中獲得更多設計大獎，從而為這一新的高利潤產品線帶來強勁的銷售增長。

Now let me quickly address the ongoing foundry capacity shortage. We expect the supply-demand imbalance to continue throughout 2022, especially on the mature nodes that we are primarily anchored to. Himax has been proactive in this regard, continuing to pursue new partnerships and agreements to increase our available capacity and achieve our 2022 business goals. In the meantime, we entered contractual agreements with the vast majority of panel makers and, in some instances, select leading end customers, where they prepay or make a deposit to secure their long-term chip supply which in turn also improves our business visibility.

現在讓我快速解決持續的代工產能短缺問題。我們預計供需失衡將持續到 2022 年，尤其是在我們主要錨定的成熟節點上。奇景在這方面一直積極主動，繼續尋求新的合作夥伴關係和協議，以增加我們的可用產能並實現我們的 2022 年業務目標。與此同時，我們與絕大多數面板製造商簽訂了合同協議，在某些情況下，我們選擇了領先的最終客戶，他們預付或存入押金以確保他們的長期芯片供應，這反過來也提高了我們的業務知名度。

While pricing has stabilized recently on both the foundry and customer sides, we guided for a modest sequential decline in gross margin for the first quarter due to a couple of factors. First, our cost of goods sold this quarter represents pricing from the previous quarter when foundries were still raising their prices. Second, in the fourth quarter we benefited from expedited orders from customers who paid the premium and we have since seen a decrease in such orders during the first quarter.

雖然最近代工廠和客戶方面的定價都趨於穩定，但由於幾個因素，我們預計第一季度毛利率將出現溫和的連續下降。首先，我們本季度的銷售成本代表了上一季度代工廠仍在提高價格時的定價。其次，在第四季度，我們受益於支付溢價的客戶的加急訂單，此後我們看到第一季度此類訂單有所減少。

On a year-over-year basis, however, our first quarter margin will still be substantially higher. Looking ahead into 2022, backed by more secured foundry capacity than last year and an advanced product portfolio, we are well positioned to continue to grow our top line and will continue to work towards maintaining a high gross margin, one of our major long-term business goals, wherein we anticipate further revenue and profit growth in 2022.

然而，與去年同期相比，我們第一季度的利潤率仍將大幅提高。展望 2022 年，在比去年更有保障的代工產能和先進的產品組合的支持下，我們有能力繼續增長我們的收入，並將繼續努力保持高毛利率，這是我們的主要長期目標之一業務目標，我們預計 2022 年收入和利潤將進一步增長。

With that, now let us start with an update on the large panel driver IC business. Historically, the first quarter has seasonally been the slowest of the year due to the Lunar New Year holidays. In addition, we are seeing softness in certain market segments and intensified China local competition. Nevertheless, Himax is armed with a diversified and comprehensive product offering, covering TV, monitor and notebook, which provides us with the flexibility to take actions in tandem with our customers and suppliers to direct production towards the sectors with stronger demand.

有了這個，現在讓我們從大型面板驅動IC業務的更新開始。從歷史上看，由於農曆新年假期，第一季度是一年中最慢的季度。此外，我們看到某些細分市場疲軟，中國本土競爭加劇。儘管如此，Himax 擁有多元化和全面的產品供應，涵蓋電視、顯示器和筆記本電腦，這使我們能夠靈活地與我們的客戶和供應商一起採取行動，將生產導向需求更強勁的行業。

For the first quarter, large display driver IC revenue is projected to be flat to slightly down sequentially, but this will represent an increase of around 70% year-over-year. Despite the low season, TV IC sales are expected to be around flat sequentially in the first quarter, anchored by high-end and large-sized TV IC shipments to key accounts.

第一季度，大型顯示驅動IC收入預計將持平或環比略有下降，但這將同比增長約70%。儘管處於淡季，但預計第一季度電視 IC 銷售額將環比持平，主要是高端和大尺寸電視 IC 向主要客戶出貨。

Conversely, we expect both monitor and notebook IC sales to drop from last quarter due mainly to panel customers' inventory adjustments in response to the slowing sales momentum after consecutive strong quarterly increases.

相反，我們預計顯示器和筆記本 IC 的銷售額均將較上季度下降，這主要是由於面板客戶在連續季度強勁增長後因銷售勢頭放緩而調整庫存。

Foreseeing the continuation of the prevailing foundry shortage and the demand for advanced displays to remain strong, we continue to move towards higher-end markets while providing advanced driver ICs and Tcons for a one-stop shopping experience, focusing on higher-end displays and premium models for the respective leading end customers in TV, monitor and notebook markets.

預見到當前代工短缺的持續和對先進顯示器的需求保持強勁，我們繼續向高端市場邁進，同時提供先進的驅動IC和Tcons，提供一站式購物體驗，專注於高端顯示器和優質產品適用於電視、顯示器和筆記本電腦市場各自領先終端客戶的型號。

We are also supporting further future upgrades for customers' next-generation products, including high-speed interface, low power consumption, higher refresh rate, ultra-large-sized, high aspect ratio and curved-view design. All these will help boost our profit margins and represent a high barrier of entry that differentiates us from China local competition. We remain positive on our large display driver IC business for 2022.

我們還支持客戶下一代產品未來的進一步升級，包括高速接口、低功耗、更高刷新率、超大尺寸、高縱橫比和曲面設計。所有這些都將有助於提高我們的利潤率，並代表我們與中國本地競爭者不同的高進入壁壘。我們對 2022 年的大型顯示驅動器 IC 業務保持樂觀。

Now let's turn to the small and medium-sized display driver IC business. In the first quarter, revenue is expected to slightly decline by mid-single digit sequentially but increase around 30% year-over-year. Sales for automotive drivers, again, are poised to post another quarter of strong growth, up over 30% sequentially while tablet sales are expected to be down mid-single-digit and smartphone IC business to decline double digit sequentially.

現在讓我們轉向中小型顯示驅動IC業務。第一季度，預計收入將環比小幅下降中個位數，但同比增長約 30%。再次，汽車司機的銷售額有望實現又一個季度的強勁增長，環比增長超過 30%，而平板電腦銷售額預計將下降中個位數，智能手機 IC 業務將連續下降兩位數。

Now let's review these three major product segments within the small- and medium-sized display driver IC business. First, on automotive sector. Order backlog and secured multiyear foundry capacity provide good long-term visibility for Himax in the automotive driver IC [market] (corrected by company after the call), where we have a leading global market share of 40%. Backed by strong design win coverage with all major panel houses and numerous car makers, alongside an enlarged capacity, we expect the automotive sector to be our No.1 sales contributor starting 2022.

現在讓我們回顧一下中小型顯示驅動IC業務中的這三個主要產品領域。首先，關於汽車領域。訂單積壓和確保多年的代工能力為 Himax 在汽車驅動 IC [市場]（由公司在電話會議後更正）提供了良好的長期可見性，我們在該市場擁有 40% 的領先全球市場份額。在所有主要面板公司和眾多汽車製造商的強大設計贏得覆蓋率以及產能擴大的支持下，我們預計汽車行業將從 2022 年開始成為我們的第一大銷售貢獻者。

We are now targeting to double our automotive sales again in 2022, on top of the already strong 2021 sales, which went up more than 110% from the year before. For the first quarter, our automotive driver IC sales are expected to grow over 30% sequentially, an increase of more than 170% year-over-year. More specifically, we expect the Q1 automotive DDIC sales still much larger than those of TDDI and AMOLED, to grow over 20% sequentially, on its own accounting for more than 20% of our total sales.

我們現在的目標是在 2021 年本已強勁的銷量基礎上，在 2022 年再次將汽車銷量翻一番，該銷量比前一年增長了 110% 以上。第一季度，我們的汽車驅動IC銷售額預計將環比增長30%以上，同比增長170%以上。更具體地說，我們預計第一季度汽車 DDIC 的銷售額仍遠高於 TDDI 和 AMOLED，環比增長超過 20%，其本身占我們總銷售額的 20% 以上。

Notwithstanding the decent growth, we are still suffering from a severe foundry capacity shortage for automotive DDIC, which is the area with the most severe shortage for us right now. The automotive TDDI, where we are much better prepared in terms of foundry capacity, is set to outgrow DDIC going forward. Currently, we are leading the market with hundreds of design win TDDI projects across the board with world leading panel makers, Tier 1s and automotive OEMs, with just a small portion of them already in mass production.

儘管增長不錯，但我們仍然面臨汽車 DDIC 的嚴重代工產能短缺，這是我們目前短缺最嚴重的領域。我們在代工能力方面準備得更好的汽車 TDDI 將在未來超過 DDIC。目前，我們與世界領先的面板製造商、一級供應商和汽車原始設備製造商合作，以數百個設計獲勝的 TDDI 項目引領市場，其中只有一小部分已經投入量產。

We announced earlier that our Gen 2 automotive TDDI, which we started ramping as recent as Q3 last year, achieved 1 million units during the first quarter of shipment alone. The Gen 2 automotive TDDI has become the mainstream product shortly after introduction to the market and already dominates our shipments right now. Our automotive TDDI shipment reached around 1.4 million units in the fourth quarter last year, and we expect to ship considerably over 3 million units in Q1 this year.

我們早些時候宣布，我們的第 2 代汽車 TDDI 僅在第一季度出貨量就達到了 100 萬台，我們從去年第三季度就開始增加。 Gen 2汽車TDDI在推出市場後不久就成為主流產品，目前已經主導了我們的出貨量。去年第四季度，我們的汽車 TDDI 出貨量達到約 140 萬台，我們預計今年第一季度出貨量將大大超過 300 萬台。

Automotive TDDI brings us not only much higher content value on a per panel basis, but is also harder to compete in for late comers. Automotive TDDI, still a relatively new technology, has become a major growth engine for us with the accelerating momentum expected to carry over throughout 2022 and the years ahead.

汽車 TDDI 不僅為我們帶來了更高的每個面板的內容價值，而且也更難以競爭後來者。汽車 TDDI 仍然是一項相對較新的技術，已成為我們的主要增長引擎，預計將在整個 2022 年及未來幾年保持加速勢頭。

Looking at the automotive display industry trends, the car market continues to embrace sophisticated display technologies and caters to interactive, stylish and curve designs with ever-improving display resolution and image quality. There is also a shift towards more and larger-sized displays per vehicle than ever before, all indicating much more driver IC demands.

縱觀汽車顯示行業趨勢，汽車市場繼續採用先進的顯示技術，並以不斷提高的顯示分辨率和圖像質量迎合交互式、時尚和曲線設計。每輛車的顯示器也比以往任何時候都轉向更多和更大尺寸的顯示器，所有這些都表明對驅動器 IC 的需求要大得多。

Himax is the market leader in automotive display driver business, covering the entire spectrum of products and technologies, including the industry's most comprehensive traditional DDIC product offerings as well as leading solutions for new technology areas, such as TDDI, local dimming Tcon, LTDI and OLED.

Himax 是汽車顯示驅動器業務的市場領導者，涵蓋全系列產品和技術，包括業界最全面的傳統 DDIC 產品供應以及針對新技術領域的領先解決方案，例如 TDDI、局部調光 Tcon、LTDI 和 OLED .

For automotive TDDI, a technology that is essential for large-sized, stylish and curved automotive displays, we pioneered the mass production of the new technology back in 2019 and have shipped cumulatively millions of units since. We continue to dominate new project design wins with direct and indirect customers across the continents. For larger than 30 inches, slim and curved automotive displays, we again led the industry by introducing cutting-edge LTDI technology that strives for a seamless incorporation of sophisticated touch features with multi-chip design architecture.

汽車 TDDI 是大尺寸、時尚和曲面汽車顯示器必不可少的技術，我們早在 2019 年就率先量產了這項新技術，自那以來已累計出貨數百萬台。我們繼續在各大洲的直接和間接客戶中贏得新的項目設計勝利。對於大於 30 英寸的超薄曲面汽車顯示器，我們通過引入尖端 LTDI 技術再次引領行業，該技術力求將復雜的觸控功能與多芯片設計架構無縫結合。

We are encouraged by the progress made in recent quarters, having increased design win coverage across panel makers and engaged more Tier 1s and OEMs for them to incorporate our LTDI into their new vehicle models. Some of them are slated for mass production starting the first half of 2023. With the commencement of TDDI mass production and LTDI thereafter, we are confident that our overall market share in the automotive display driver market will continue to rise in the coming years.

我們對最近幾個季度取得的進展感到鼓舞，增加了面板製造商的設計獲勝覆蓋率，並聘請了更多的一級供應商和原始設備製造商讓他們將我們的 LTDI 納入他們的新車型。其中一些計劃於 2023 年上半年開始量產。隨著 TDDI 量產和此後 LTDI 的開始，我們有信心在未來幾年我們在汽車顯示驅動器市場的整體市場份額將繼續上升。

Next, on smartphone and tablet businesses. We expect Q1's smartphone IC business to decline double digits sequentially, challenged by slowing sales in the global smartphone market, inventory held in stock by smartphone makers and last, but not least, longer production cycle of a new product, a factor which is specific to Himax, but only during this quarter.

接下來是智能手機和平板電腦業務。我們預計第一季度的智能手機 IC 業務將連續下降兩位數，受到全球智能手機市場銷售放緩、智能手機製造商庫存積壓以及新產品生產週期延長的挑戰，這是特定於Himax，但僅限於本季度。

In Q1, amidst the worldwide smartphone slowdown, we strategically initiated a product transition plan for key customers' next-generation new designs that support higher frame rate, ultra slim bezel and higher resolution features. The new generation product is designed with more masking layers and therefore requires longer production time, which, during the first quarter of production, will lead to less output.

第一季度，在全球智能手機放緩的情況下，我們針對主要客戶支持更高幀率、超薄邊框和更高分辨率功能的下一代新設計，戰略性地啟動了產品過渡計劃。新一代產品設計有更多的掩蔽層，因此需要更長的生產時間，在第一季度生產期間，這將導致產量減少。

The product's output is expected to be back to normal starting from the second quarter. Our tablet sales are expected to decline mid-single digit in Q1 due to worldwide tablet market adjustment from a high level. However, our TDDI sales, bucking the seasonality, are expected to be up low-single digit sequentially in the first quarter, benefited by the proactive adoption by all leading non-iOS tablet names of our TDDI solutions. We continue to see an acceleration in TDDI penetration for tablets following surging needs for larger size displays, higher frame rate and active stylus features.

該產品的產量預計將從第二季度開始恢復正常。由於全球平板電腦市場從高位調整，我們的平板電腦銷量預計將在第一季度下降中個位數。然而，由於所有領先的非 iOS 平板電腦名稱都積極採用我們的 TDDI 解決方案，我們的 TDDI 銷售額預計將在第一季度環比增長低個位數。隨著對更大尺寸顯示器、更高幀速率和有源手寫筆功能的需求激增，我們繼續看到平板電腦的 TDDI 滲透率正在加速。

As the dominating tablet driver IC supplier for literally all non-iOS tablet vendors, our TDDI solutions continue to gain traction and are adopted broadly in customers' next-generation tablet products. Among all, we are seeing fast expanding education tablets where our tablet TDDI with active stylus feature has been widely adopted by several leading Chinese players.

作為幾乎所有非 iOS 平板電腦供應商的主要平板電腦驅動 IC 供應商，我們的 TDDI 解決方案繼續受到關注，並被客戶的下一代平板電腦產品廣泛採用。其中，我們看到快速發展的教育平板電腦，我們的帶主動式觸控筆功能的平板電腦 TDDI 已被多家中國領先企業廣泛採用。

Turning to the e-paper driver business, another product in our small and medium-sized driver lineup. Our e-paper business, which currently only represents a small portion of total sales, is set to grow by more than 100% sequentially and more than 240% year-over-year in Q1, driven by the early ramp-up of projects with leading customers and backed by long-term supply agreements. We are collaborating with world-leading e-paper customers for certain ASIC projects on their next-generation products. This consolidates our market presence in the emerging e-reading and e-signage segments from 2022 and onward.

談到電子紙驅動器業務，我們中小型驅動器陣容中的另一個產品。我們的電子紙業務目前僅佔總銷售額的一小部分，在第一季度的項目早期增長的推動下，其環比增長將超過 100%，同比增長將超過 240%。領先的客戶並以長期供應協議為後盾。我們正在與世界領先的電子紙客戶就其下一代產品的某些 ASIC 項目進行合作。這鞏固了我們在 2022 年及以後新興電子閱讀和電子標牌領域的市場地位。

Next, for an update on AMOLED. Himax continues to gear up for the AMOLED driver IC development in partnership with major Chinese and Korean panel makers. In Q1, our flexible AMOLED driver and Tcon for automotive application successfully ramped up for customers' flagship EV model. The number of awarded projects for our automotive OLED Ics is growing with further EV vendors. In addition, our OLED for tablet is expected to commence mass production in the second quarter of this year with Chinese panel makers. As for smartphone, we continue to commit R&D resources to AMOLED driver IC through engagement with top-tier customers. In view of serious constraints on OLED display driver capacity in the next few years, we have also secured meaningful capacity for smartphone OLED drivers.

接下來，關於 AMOLED 的更新。奇景光電繼續與主要的中國和韓國面板製造商合作開發 AMOLED 驅動 IC。在第一季度，我們用於汽車應用的柔性 AMOLED 驅動器和 Tcon 成功地為客戶的旗艦 EV 車型增加了產能。隨著更多電動汽車供應商的加入，我們汽車 OLED 集成電路的獲獎項目數量正在增加。此外，我們用於平板電腦的 OLED 預計將於今年第二季度與中國面板製造商開始量產。在智能手機方面，我們繼續通過與頂級客戶的合作，將研發資源投入到 AMOLED 驅動 IC 上。鑑於未來幾年 OLED 顯示驅動器產能受到嚴重限制，我們還為智能手機 OLED 驅動器確保了有意義的產能。

Now let me share some of the progress we made on the non-driver IC businesses. Let's start from the timing controller. We anticipate Q1 Tcon sales to decrease single digit sequentially as a result of weaker demand in TV and Chromebook notebook sectors. However, on a year-over-year basis, Tcon sales will be up around 50%. We are optimistic about the long-term growth prospect of the Tcon business, where we have successfully positioned ourselves for higher-end and higher value-added areas, including 4K/8K TV, gaming monitor and low-power notebook in view of the consumers' pursuance of various new types of entertainment for film, television and gaming.

現在讓我分享一下我們在非驅動IC業務方面取得的一些進展。讓我們從時序控制器開始。由於電視和 Chromebook 筆記本電腦行業的需求疲軟，我們預計第一季度 Tcon 銷售額將環比下降個位數。然而，與去年同期相比，Tcon 的銷售額將增長約 50%。我們看好 Tcon 業務的長期增長前景，成功定位於高端和高附加值領域，包括 4K/8K 電視、電競顯示器和低功耗筆記本電腦。 '追求影視、遊戲等多種新型娛樂方式。

Additionally, we extend our Tcon product reach into automotive and gaming TV markets. Our cutting-edge automotive local dimming Tcon has won numerous awards and penetrated into OEMs and Tier 1 car makers' new premium models, with some of them slated for mass production starting in the second quarter of 2022. In the gaming TV market, we are also leading the industry by introducing the world's first 288 Hertz 8K TV Tcon in collaboration with major TV panel makers. We believe the Tcon segment will be one of the driving forces for our non-driver business moving forward.

此外，我們將 Tcon 產品範圍擴展到汽車和遊戲電視市場。我們的尖端汽車局部調光 Tcon 贏得了無數獎項，並滲透到 OEM 和一級汽車製造商的新高端車型中，其中部分車型計劃於 2022 年第二季度開始量產。在遊戲電視市場，我們是還通過與主要電視面板製造商合作推出全球首款 288 赫茲 8K 電視 Tcon 引領行業。我們相信 Tcon 細分市場將成為我們非司機業務向前發展的驅動力之一。

Now switching gears to the ultralow power AI image sensing total solution, which incorporates Himax ultralow power CMOS image sensor, our proprietary processor and CNN-based AI algorithm. As reported earlier, the sizable order for a top-tier name customer's mainstream application successfully entered mass production in Q4 last year, marking another impressive milestone for our new AI business within just one year since our initial release. We will give further details after the end customers' official announcement.

現在轉向超低功耗 AI 圖像傳感整體解決方案，該解決方案結合了 Himax 超低功耗 CMOS 圖像傳感器、我們的專有處理器和基於 CNN 的 AI 算法。早前報導，去年第四季度，一家頂級大客戶主流應用的大筆訂單成功進入量產階段，標誌著我們新的人工智能業務自首次發布以來的一年內又一個令人印象深刻的里程碑。我們將在最終客戶的正式公告後給出進一步的細節。

We have also made good progress on this mainstream application with other leading vendors, where the number of design-in projects is increasing as we speak. In addition to the success story I just mentioned, the second application we expect to see significant volume is in automatic meter reading, or AMR, where our AI total solution has been widely adopted by numerous customers across a wide geographical area in China. Our power-saving AI cameras deployed over the existing installed base of traditional water meters, enable the water meter to automatically collect consumption data with AI operating locally on the edge.

我們與其他領先供應商在這一主流應用程序上也取得了良好的進展，正如我們所說，其中設計項目的數量正在增加。除了我剛才提到的成功案例之外，我們預計會出現大量應用的第二個應用是自動抄表或 AMR，我們的 AI 整體解決方案已被中國廣大地理區域的眾多客戶廣泛採用。我們的節能型 AI 攝像頭部署在現有的傳統水錶安裝基礎上，使水錶能夠通過邊緣本地運行的 AI 自動收集消耗數據。

The device transmits only byte-sized metadata to the server for billing and in-time detection of abnormal consumption or leakage, eliminating the need for manual reading. The battery pack has a lifetime of over 5 years, greatly outperforming conventional AMR solutions, which usually are in a bulky form with large battery packs and, without local AI capability, have to transmit massive image data to the cloud to perform meter reading.

設備僅將字節大小的元數據傳輸到服務器，用於計費和及時檢測異常消耗或洩漏，無需人工讀取。電池組的使用壽命超過 5 年，大大優於傳統的 AMR 解決方案，傳統的 AMR 解決方案通常是體積龐大的大型電池組，並且沒有本地 AI 能力，必須將大量圖像數據傳輸到雲端才能進行抄表。

We are already seeing accelerated deployment of our AI solutions to a wide range of applications, including notebook, home appliances, utility meter, automotive, battery-powered surveillance camera, panoramic video conferencing and medical, among other things. Moreover, new design-in sockets are on the way as we look to leverage the collaboration with leading cloud service partners, such as Microsoft Azure and Google TensorFlow, on their edge-to-cloud platform to drive further adoption on applications, such as smart home, smart office, health care, agriculture, retail and factory automation.

我們已經看到我們的人工智能解決方案加速部署到各種應用，包括筆記本電腦、家用電器、電錶、汽車、電池供電的監控攝像頭、全景視頻會議和醫療等。此外，我們希望利用與領先的雲服務合作夥伴（例如 Microsoft Azure 和 Google TensorFlow）在其邊緣到雲平台上的合作來推動應用程序的進一步採用，例如智能家庭、智能辦公室、醫療保健、農業、零售和工廠自動化。

Last but not least, we are seeing numerous design-in activities of our AI solutions for endoscope, an area we are extremely excited about that may represent an extraordinary game changer for the health examination industry. We will report more detail in due course. We are very encouraged by the traction this relatively new product line has generated in a short amount of time and expect to see increasing sales contribution through 2022 and beyond.

最後但並非最不重要的一點是，我們看到內窺鏡 AI 解決方案的大量設計活動，我們對此感到非常興奮，這可能代表健康檢查行業的非凡遊戲規則改變者。我們將在適當的時候報告更多細節。我們對這條相對較新的產品線在短時間內產生的吸引力感到非常鼓舞，並預計到 2022 年及以後的銷售貢獻將增加。

Lastly, given the recent surge of interest in the metaverse and immersive technologies, I'd like to give an update on our optical-related product lines, to which we have committed years of R&D efforts. Our LcoS, WLO and 3D Sensing, three separate optical-related technologies, may individually or combined play a key role in enabling metaverse devices. To help users transit and connect seamlessly between AR/VR devices and real-life, the right display and 3D technologies are vital.

最後，鑑於最近人們對虛擬世界和沈浸式技術的興趣激增，我想介紹一下我們多年來一直致力於研發的光學相關產品線的最新情況。我們的 LcoS、WLO 和 3D 傳感這三種獨立的光學相關技術可能單獨或組合在啟用元節設備方面發揮關鍵作用。為了幫助用戶在 AR/VR 設備和現實生活之間無縫傳輸和連接，正確的顯示和 3D 技術至關重要。

AR glasses, considered one of the ideal displays for metaverse applications, feature vision augmentation onto the real-world environment, where users see through the glasses with virtual objects and/or digital twins of real-life objects projected by AI engines onto the glasses. For this, Himax showcases Front-lit LcoS Microdisplay, one of the tiniest display modules that offers significantly a higher brightness, lighter weight and lower power consumption, all making the technology ideal for AR headsets.

AR 眼鏡被認為是虛擬世界應用的理想顯示器之一，它在現實世界環境中提供視覺增強功能，用戶通過眼鏡看到虛擬對象和/或由 AI 引擎投射到眼鏡上的現實對象的數字孿生。為此，Himax 展示了 Front-lit LcoS Microdisplay，這是最小的顯示模塊之一，可提供顯著更高的亮度、更輕的重量和更低的功耗，所有這些都使該技術成為 AR 耳機的理想選擇。

To further enable AR glasses, we offer WLO waveguide that propagates light patterns from the LcoS display in a predefined path towards the eyes. Furthermore, for virtual objects reconstruction or digital twin information, Himax provides industry leading WLO and 3D decoding technologies, which are essential in enabling both structured light and ToF, or Time of Flight, 3D sensing. The 3D sensing technology, when combined with image sensors, can also enable 3D-based gesture recognition, eliminating the need for handheld controllers, enhancing perception of the environment, which making the ideal technology for contactless interface for AR/VR devices.

為了進一步啟用 AR 眼鏡，我們提供 WLO 波導，該波導將來自 LcoS 顯示器的光模式以預定義的路徑傳播到眼睛。此外，對於虛擬對象重建或數字孿生信息，Himax 提供行業領先的 WLO 和 3D 解碼技術，這些技術對於實現結構光和 ToF 或飛行時間、3D 傳感至關重要。 3D傳感技術與圖像傳感器相結合，還可以實現基於3D的手勢識別，無需手持控制器，增強對環境的感知，是AR/VR設備非接觸式界面的理想技術。

In all these technologies I just mentioned, we have a market-leading position with our technology already embedded in various products of quite a few of the biggest tech names in the business and have shipped hundreds of millions in volume with proven product development and manufacturing track records over the years.

在我剛才提到的所有這些技術中，我們都處於市場領先地位，我們的技術已經嵌入到業內不少知名技術公司的各種產品中，並且已經通過成熟的產品開發和製造跟踪實現了數億的出貨量多年來的記錄。

While metaverse is still years away from mass volume deployment, Himax is at the forefront of these key technologies to enable the industry, and we are ready to bring the metaverse to life through partnerships with tech industry's leading players, who are aggressively investing in the space. We will not miss the next big thing and are ready to seize the opportunities ahead. We will report additional progress in this new arena as it continues to develop. For non-driver IC business, we expect revenue to decline high teens sequentially in the first quarter.

雖然 Metaverse 距離大規模部署還有幾年的時間，但 Himax 處於這些關鍵技術的前沿，以支持該行業，我們已準備好通過與科技行業領先企業的合作，將 Metaverse 變為現實，他們正在積極投資該領域.我們不會錯過下一件大事，並準備好抓住未來的機會。隨著它的不斷發展，我們將報告這個新領域的更多進展。對於非驅動IC業務，我們預計第一季度收入將連續下降十幾倍。

That concludes my report for this quarter. Thank you for your interest in Himax. We appreciate you joining today's call and are now ready to take questions.

我本季度的報告到此結束。感謝您對 Himax 的關注。感謝您加入今天的電話會議，現在可以回答問題了。

(Operator Instructions). And our first question coming from the line of Tristan Gerra with Baird.

（操作員說明）。我們的第一個問題來自 Tristan Gerra 和 Baird。

I'm trying to reconcile the commentary that you had on the call about panel inventory adjustments and also some weakness in smartphones with supply expected to remain tight. So if you could help us understand that you're improving your mix, but are you expecting those final inventory adjustment to basically adjust very quickly, in which case then is the reason why you expect your supply to remain tight? Or is any other factors that I should be considering to reconcile the two?

我試圖調和你在電話會議上關於面板庫存調整的評論以及智能手機的一些疲軟，預計供應將保持緊張。因此，如果您可以幫助我們了解您正在改善您的組合，但是您是否期望最終的庫存調整基本上會很快調整，那麼在這種情況下，您期望供應保持緊張的原因是什麼？還是我應該考慮其他任何因素來調和兩者？

Thank you, Tristan. I understand your question is directed towards only smartphone. Am I correct?

謝謝你，特里斯坦。我了解您的問題僅針對智能手機。我對麼？

Well, even overall, because I figure that it is panel inventory adjustment. Eventually, it can have an impact on the overall demand, even though you mentioned that -- actually, I think the commentary that you had for panel inventory adjustment was if I heard well in the large panel driver IC business?

好吧，甚至總體而言，因為我認為這是面板庫存調整。最終，它可能會對整體需求產生影響，儘管你提到了——實際上，我認為你對面板庫存調整的評論是如果我在大型面板驅動 IC 業務中聽得很好？

Right. Okay. Firstly, on smartphone, I mean, I think everybody understands the market is relatively slow globally. Having said that though, I think we are relatively immune from the slow market in the sense that we have relatively small exposure to the smartphone market with our sales currently only about 20% going to smartphone, ironically limited by capacity as we reported repeatedly in the past.

正確的。好的。首先，關於智能手機，我的意思是，我認為每個人都明白全球市場相對緩慢。儘管如此，我認為我們對緩慢的市場相對免疫，因為我們在智能手機市場的敞口相對較小，目前我們的銷售額只有約 20% 流向智能手機，具有諷刺意味的是，正如我們在過去的。

And I would admit, I don't have very good visibility on smartphone, when as you correctly mentioned, customers do have inventory pile up. However, again, we mentioned before, our pool of capacity for smartphone and tablet, it's the same pool. It's the same thing, right? So with the same limited amount of capacity available to us, we still have to make the choice of supporting tablet over smartphone because in tablet, we simply have a much higher market share with customers relying upon Himax a lot more than smartphone.

而且我承認，我在智能手機上的知名度不是很高，正如您正確提到的那樣，客戶確實有庫存堆積。但是，我們之前提到過，我們的智能手機和平板電腦容量池是同一個池。這是同一件事，對吧？因此，在我們可用的容量有限的情況下，我們仍然必須選擇支持平板電腦而不是智能手機，因為在平板電腦中，我們擁有更高的市場份額，客戶對 Himax 的依賴遠高於智能手機。

So on a combined basis in these two sectors, which is more than 40% of total sales combined, we are still running at a pretty serious shortage. Although, when we say the market visibility is limited, I think, if I speak to the customers across the board, whether it's smartphone, tablet or TV or monitor or notebook. I think other than the very exception of automotive, where we remain super positive, the shortage there is severe and we just are backing our foundry and the customers are backing us to ship more, right?

因此，在這兩個領域的總銷售額中，佔總銷售額的 40% 以上，我們仍然處於相當嚴重的短缺狀態。雖然，當我們說市場知名度有限時，我認為，如果我與所有客戶交談，無論是智能手機、平板電腦還是電視，還是顯示器或筆記本電腦。我認為除了汽車這個例外，我們仍然非常樂觀，那裡的短缺很嚴重，我們只是支持我們的代工廠，客戶支持我們出貨更多，對吧？

So if I put that aside, all other sectors I have to say, when I talk to customers across the board, while nobody has a very upbeat growth prospect year-over-year, no one is also predicting a major decline either. And that is a reflection of low visibility that we just reiterated. However, on this level of demand last year, we as well as the whole industry were running at a pretty severe shortage, and we are also seeing no major capacity increase, right, at least throughout the entire 2022, right?

因此，如果我將這一點放在一邊，我不得不說，當我與所有其他行業的客戶進行全面交談時，雖然沒有人對同比增長前景非常樂觀，但也沒有人預測會出現大幅下滑。這反映了我們剛剛重申的低能見度。但是，在去年的這種需求水平上，我們以及整個行業都處於相當嚴重的短缺狀態，而且我們也沒有看到產能大幅增加，對吧，至少在整個 2022 年，對吧？

So last year, there was a shortage. This year, it is highly, highly unlikely the demand is going to shrink in a meaningful way. So I think that is why as well as our peers are, and our foundry partners as well, in fact, are saying the shortage is likely to remain. If there should be a demand recovery, whether it's Q2 or the second half, I think shortage certainly will become more severe and vice versa, which, again, we have limited visibility. We just have to watch the market very closely. I don't know if that answers your question, Tristan?

所以去年出現了短缺。今年，需求極不可能以有意義的方式萎縮。所以我認為這就是為什麼我們的同行以及我們的代工合作夥伴實際上都在說短缺可能仍然存在。如果需求復蘇，無論是第二季度還是下半年，我認為短缺肯定會變得更加嚴重，反之亦然，我們的能見度有限。我們只需要非常密切地觀察市場。我不知道這是否回答了你的問題，特里斯坦？

Yes. No, I certainly appreciate the color. And then for my follow-up, I'm looking at the gross margin implications. So it sounds that as wafer pricing continues to go up, you weren't able to offset that or fully offset that in Q1 and thus that brings basically a little bit of a sequential decline in gross margin. Given what you've mentioned about demand and supply, do you think that you have the ability to have pricing match further wafer price increases throughout the year, given the supply constraint that you've mentioned? Or do you think that the inventory adjustment will prevent you from having pricing that will mature higher cost beyond Q1?

是的。不，我當然很欣賞這種顏色。然後在我的後續行動中，我正在研究毛利率的影響。因此，聽起來隨著晶圓價格繼續上漲，您無法在第一季度抵消或完全抵消這一影響，因此這基本上會帶來毛利率的一點點連續下降。鑑於您提到的需求和供應，您認為在您提到的供應限制的情況下，您是否有能力使價格與全年晶圓價格的進一步上漲相匹配？還是您認為庫存調整會阻止您在第一季度之後實現更高成本的定價？

I think, firstly, we are not seeing major or meaningful further price increase of foundry from this point over, at least not in this year, right? So our higher cost in this quarter is a reflection of the pricing which took place in Q4 compared to Q3, right? So this is how our business goes, right? We negotiate price. We agree a price with the foundry. We then place order and they start fabrication process for us, which typically will then take 3 months and you pass a little bit for back end. So that becomes the shipment. So Q4, wafer start becomes the Q1 shipments, right? So the new prices we agree with foundry during Q4 become our cost for Q1.

我認為，首先，從現在開始，我們沒有看到代工價格進一步大幅上漲，至少今年不會，對吧？因此，我們本季度較高的成本反映了第四季度與第三季度相比的定價，對嗎？所以我們的業務就是這樣進行的，對吧？我們協商價格。我們與代工廠商定價格。然後我們下訂單，他們為我們開始製造過程，這通常需要 3 個月的時間，你會通過一些後端。這樣就變成了裝運。所以第四季度，晶圓開始變成第一季度的出貨量，對吧？因此，我們在第四季度與代工廠商定的新價格成為我們第一季度的成本。

In Q3, foundry price was higher than that of Q3 -- sorry, sorry, let me repeat, Q4 foundry price was higher than that of Q3, meaning our Q1 shipping costs will be higher than that of Q4. I don't know if that is clear. And that explains why with this short-term decline in gross margin, a little bit of decline, because our customers are very basically telling us, hey, you have upped your prices a lot last year. And now the market is slowing down, and we really cannot accept for the price up.

在第三季度，代工價格高於第三季度——對不起，對不起，讓我再說一遍，第四季度的代工價格高於第三季度，這意味著我們第一季度的運輸成本將高於第四季度。我不知道這是否清楚。這就解釋了為什麼隨著毛利率的這種短期下降，有點下降，因為我們的客戶基本上都在告訴我們，嘿，你去年漲價了很多。而現在市場正在放緩，我們真的不能接受價格上漲。

So although our foundries are also telling us the same thing, right, they are saying, well, it looks like the market cannot accept further price hikes. So although the foundry is saying the same thing to us, however, the price hike that took place in Q4 already was built in into our Q1 costs, and that explains a little bit of squeeze in our gross margin. Now going forward, again, when I talked to all my foundry partners, no one is projecting further meaningful foundry price [increase] (added by company after the call) this year for the simple fact that you know if they raise the price further, the market may not be able to accept it given the overall market environment right now.

所以儘管我們的代工廠也告訴我們同樣的事情，對，他們說，好吧，看起來市場不能接受進一步的價格上漲。因此，儘管代工廠對我們說了同樣的話，但是，第四季度的價格上漲已經包含在我們第一季度的成本中，這解釋了我們的毛利率受到了一點擠壓。現在，再次，當我與我所有的代工合作夥伴交談時，沒有人預計今年的代工價格[增加]（由公司在電話會議後添加）是一個簡單的事實，你知道他們是否會進一步提高價格，鑑於目前的整體市場環境，市場可能無法接受。

However, despite the slow market, our customers are not squeezing as hard for price down. Why? Because our customers, like us, and like our foundry partners, we are all still worried about the overall tightness of our foundry capacity. So we are kind of reaching a balance. How long the balance is going to last? I have no idea. As I said, if the second half, we see a rebound in demand, then it will be good news for us and vice versa, right? So I think it's too early to tell.

然而，儘管市場緩慢，但我們的客戶並沒有那麼努力地壓低價格。為什麼？因為我們的客戶和我們一樣，也和我們的代工合作夥伴一樣，我們仍然擔心我們代工產能的整體緊張。所以我們在某種程度上達到了平衡。餘額會持續多久？我不知道。正如我所說，如果下半年我們看到需求反彈，那麼這對我們來說是個好消息，反之亦然，對嗎？所以我認為現在說還為時過早。

However, I think we are a lot more confident on our top line growth this year. Then gross margin, which is last year was 48.5%, is pretty high level. So whether we can further expand on the 48.5% of last year, I have no total confidence, but we also don't think we would depart too much from that if we have to go a little bit lower. So with higher top line growth and a little bit of uncertainty on gross margin, we still remain pretty good confidence on our bottom line as well. I think that's a big quick picture of a quick summary of the full picture of our 2022 outlook.

但是，我認為我們對今年的收入增長更有信心。然後毛利率，去年是48.5%，是相當高的水平。所以我們能否在去年的 48.5% 的基礎上進一步擴大，我沒有完全的信心，但我們也認為如果我們必須再低一點，我們也不會偏離太多。因此，隨著較高的收入增長和毛利率的一些不確定性，我們仍然對我們的底線充滿信心。我認為這是對我們 2022 年展望全貌的快速總結。

Your next question coming from the line of Jerry Su with Credit Suisse.

您的下一個問題來自瑞士信貸的 Jerry Su。

Thanks for taking my question, Jordan. Just wanted to follow up on your comment on gross margin. As you mentioned that foundry is less likely to further increase the price in this year. And then I think you also mentioned that the automotive probably will be the largest contribution of your revenue. So with this dynamic, does that means that your gross margin actually could at least hold at the current 46% to 48% level if the end demand does not change too much?

謝謝你提出我的問題，喬丹。只是想跟進您對毛利率的評論。正如你提到的，代工今年不太可能進一步提高價格。然後我認為您還提到汽車可能是您收入的最大貢獻。那麼在這種動態下，這是否意味著如果最終需求沒有太大變化，您的毛利率實際上至少可以保持在目前的 46% 到 48% 的水平？

I think that's a fair assumption, yes. I mean, given all other things, pretty much staying or close to the current level. I think our mix is highly likely to improve, given the fact that we are very confident about our automotive sector outgrowing the others where automotive in general, enjoys better margin than the rest. So given all other factors being similar to the current level, then yes, I think there's a good chance we may actually sustain or improve our gross margin from this point onward.

我認為這是一個公平的假設，是的。我的意思是，考慮到所有其他因素，幾乎保持或接近當前水平。我認為我們的組合很可能會改善，因為我們非常有信心我們的汽車行業超過其他汽車行業，總體而言，汽車行業的利潤率高於其他行業。因此，鑑於所有其他因素都與當前水平相似，那麼是的，我認為我們很有可能從此時起實際上維持或提高我們的毛利率。

Okay. Got it. And just a quick follow-up on the Q1 guidance for the non-driver because I think you have guided on non-driver, but you only mentioned that timing control has declined in single digit. I'm just wondering what is causing the non-driver business to see a double-digit decline. Well, what's the missing point here?

好的。知道了。並且只是對非駕駛員的 Q1 指導進行快速跟進，因為我認為您已經指導了非駕駛員，但您只提到計時控制下降了個位數。我只是想知道是什麼導致非司機業務出現兩位數的下降。那麼，這裡缺少什麼？

I think Tcon, there's a short-term sequential decline, right? The Chromebook, TV being soft, et cetera, you know the story, right? So having said that, I think we are very confident about our Tcon growth for this year, year-over-year I think overall, because we mentioned we have positioned ourselves much better right now compared to a year ago when -- whether it's TV, notebook or monitor, we are focusing on higher-end products and having a stronger and more direct relationship with end customers, right? So we are fairly confident about Tcon growth.

我認為Tcon，有一個短期的連續下降，對吧？ Chromebook、電視柔軟等等，你知道這個故事，對吧？話雖如此，我認為我們對今年的 Tcon 增長非常有信心，我認為總體而言，因為我們提到與一年前相比，我們現在的定位要好得多——無論是電視，筆記本或顯示器，我們專注於更高端的產品，與終端客戶建立更強大、更直接的關係，對吧？所以我們對 Tcon 的增長相當有信心。

Also in addition to that, our bundle sales approach, I think it's going to play a role here as well. Bundle sale means Tcon bundled together with driver IC, right, as a total solution. So we are saying Tcon sequential decline in this quarter will be a short-term phenomenon. For the whole year, we still remain confident. I think the you were saying the decline for non-driver overall the missing point. I think is in CMOS image sensor primarily. A little bit on WLO, where major customers, their legacy products is declining in volume, but that is playing much less impact on us now than before.

除此之外，我們的捆綁銷售方法，我認為它也會在這裡發揮作用。捆綁銷售是指將Tcon與驅動IC捆綁在一起，作為一個整體解決方案。所以我們說本季度Tcon環比下降將是一個短期現象。全年，我們仍然充滿信心。我認為你所說的非司機整體的下降是缺失的一點。我認為主要是在CMOS圖像傳感器中。關於 WLO，主要客戶的舊產品數量正在下降，但現在對我們的影響比以前要小得多。

CIS, where we have a major market share in notebook and notebook short-term demand is not good. Although notebook, I think, if I may comment a little bit on CIS outlook for this year, the notebook market is undergoing a major upgrade, which you see mostly in the camera, from HD to full HD, right? So that is good news for us. So we are going to benefit, especially starting from second half of the year from this trend.

獨聯體，我們在筆記本市場佔有主要份額，而筆記本短期需求並不好。雖然是筆記本，但我想，如果我能稍微評論一下今年的CIS前景，筆記本市場正在經歷一次重大升級，你看到的主要是相機，從高清到全高清，對吧？所以這對我們來說是個好消息。因此，我們將從這一趨勢中受益，尤其是從下半年開始。

Having said that, I think webcam, which was a major contributor last year, because of the COVID situation. And when you can not upgrade your notebook, you buy a new webcam to support your video conferencing, right? So there was a major, major surge in demand last year. But with COVID, hopefully, leaving us, the webcam demand is likely to decline, right? So I think we are building in that assumption into our CIS forecast. And that results in a slower CIS. And also in Q1, we do see the trend of webcam having declined in projection.

話雖如此，我認為由於 COVID 情況，網絡攝像頭是去年的主要貢獻者。而當您無法升級您的筆記本電腦時，您可以購買一個新的網絡攝像頭來支持您的視頻會議，對吧？因此，去年的需求出現了大幅大幅增長。但是，希望隨著 COVID 離開我們，網絡攝像頭的需求可能會下降，對吧？所以我認為我們正在將這一假設納入我們的獨聯體預測。這會導致 CIS 變慢。同樣在第一季度，我們確實看到網絡攝像頭的預測趨勢有所下降。

Okay. Got it. Thank you for the color. And then maybe just one last question. I think you spent some paragraph discussing the coverage of metaverse. Question is actually more related to the different display technology. I think in the previous couple of years after shipping the LCoS of some of the AR glasses. But I think more recently, we can see that some of the display technology has been shifting to OLED, (technical difficulty) and also potential (technical difficulty). I just wanted to know from your point of view, if you look at the LCoS versus the other 2 technologies, do you think that you have enough confidence or breakthrough that can bring LCoS back to become the mainstream in the next couple of years?

好的。知道了。謝謝你的顏色。然後也許只是最後一個問題。我認為您花了一些段落討論元節的覆蓋範圍。問題實際上更多地與不同的顯示技術有關。我認為是在過去幾年發布了一些 AR 眼鏡的 LCoS 之後。但我認為最近，我們可以看到一些顯示技術已經轉向 OLED，（技術難度）和潛力（技術難度）。我只是想從你的角度知道，如果你看一下 LCoS 與其他 2 種技術，你認為你有足夠的信心或突破可以讓 LCoS 在未來幾年重新成為主流嗎？

Thank you, Jerry, for the question. I think you correctly mentioned, we have been in AR glasses for many, many years, right? And we are certainly -- I mean, no doubt we are the pioneer in providing a key technology to enable AR glasses, which is microdisplay, right? So we are in the product, you know, of literally all of the most notable AR glasses products so far, although none of them have been a commercial success as we all appreciate. Now I think the lessons learned across the whole industry has included and most importantly, our end customers through all these years is that we have finally come to a good consensus as to what kind of products or technology required for the industry to put forward AR glasses, which is attractive enough for general public, right? So I'm not talking about fancy technology, see I'm just talking about common sense, right? .

謝謝你，傑瑞，你的問題。我想你說得對，我們使用 AR 眼鏡已經很多很多年了，對吧？我們當然是——我的意思是，毫無疑問，我們是為 AR 眼鏡提供關鍵技術的先驅，那就是微顯示器，對吧？所以我們在產品中，你知道，到目前為止，幾乎所有最著名的 AR 眼鏡產品，儘管它們都沒有像我們都欣賞的那樣取得商業上的成功。現在我認為整個行業的經驗教訓包括，最重要的是，這些年來我們的最終客戶是，我們終於達成了一個很好的共識，即行業需要什麼樣的產品或技術來推出 AR 眼鏡，這對普通大眾來說已經足夠有吸引力了，對吧？所以我不是在談論花哨的技術，我只是在談論常識，對吧？ .

Firstly, you need to have a (inaudible) design, fancy design, right, similar to your sunglasses with similar shape and weight even, right? And that is the first requirement, very important. Secondly, you need to have your display be in full color. And then display needs to provide over decent image quality and certainly affordable price. And lastly, but very importantly, a decent large enough size of field of view, FOV. So all these are the required barriers for a product, which hopefully will really attract the attention of general public.

首先，你需要有一個（聽不清的）設計，花哨的設計，對，與你的太陽鏡相似，形狀和重量也差不多，對吧？這是第一個要求，非常重要。其次，你需要讓你的顯示器是全彩色的。然後顯示器需要提供出色的圖像質量和當然可以承受的價格。最後，但非常重要的是，足夠大的視野，FOV。因此，所有這些都是產品所需的障礙，希望能真正引起公眾的關注。

And our products, together with our end customers, in the past, they missed many of such criteria, right? So throughout all these years, I think the industry has finally come to this conclusion that this is the target we are shooting for, so can we provide the technology. And I can tell you with a good degree of confidence that so far, as of today, we can't. But we feel we are getting very, very close. That's the key message we want to deliver.

而我們的產品，以及我們的最終客戶，在過去，他們錯過了很多這樣的標準，對吧？所以這些年來，我認為業界終於得出這樣的結論，這是我們所追求的目標，所以我們可以提供技術。我可以很有信心地告訴你，到目前為止，截至今天，我們還做不到。但我們覺得我們已經非常非常接近了。這是我們想要傳達的關鍵信息。

So back to your question, how does our LCoS compare to other competing technologies for AR glasses? AR glasses, by definition is a see-through glasses, device, right? I.e., you need to have what we call microdisplays, displays which are tiny, and they have to sit on the side, near your ears, right, because they can't sit in the front because that will block your side of view, right? So they need to sit on the side. Since they are sitting on the side, they need some optical mechanism, including waveguide to lead the light, the image into your front, right? So those are the basic fundamental requirements. It doesn't matter what kind of display you use, you have to go through this requirement.

回到您的問題，我們的 LCoS 與其他用於 AR 眼鏡的競爭技術相比如何？ AR眼鏡，顧名思義就是一種透視眼鏡設備吧？也就是說，你需要有我們所說的微型顯示器，很小的顯示器，它們必須坐在側面，靠近你的耳朵，對，因為它們不能坐在前面，因為那會擋住你的視線，對吧?所以他們需要坐在一邊。因為他們坐在一邊，他們需要一些光學機制，包括將光引導到你面前的波導，對吧？所以這些是基本的基本要求。不管你使用什麼樣的顯示器，你都必須通過這個要求。

So again, to achieve these basic requirements and also the target specs, right, the target objectives of the general consumers, most importantly for microdisplay, you're talking about size, brightness, power consumption and cost. We now have a good consensus what kind of (inaudible) we need to make, to need to achieve size, brightness and power consumption and cost.

再說一遍，要達到這些基本要求和目標規格，對，一般消費者的目標目標，最重要的是微顯示器，你在談論尺寸、亮度、功耗和成本。我們現在有一個很好的共識，我們需要製作什麼樣的（聽不清），需要達到尺寸、亮度和功耗以及成本。

Firstly, on size, which is the most important because without the right size, you just cannot make the fancy glasses, and that you go back to the previous failures, right? So size is the utmost most important crtieria. To achieve the right size, clearly, you're talking about for microdisplay, you can have two different types. One is what we call self-illuminating type. The other one is not. The importance of self-illuminating type is that because it's self-illuminating, meaning you don't need an external optical engine to enable the illumination, right? And once you have an external optical engine, the size, you failed the criteria already. So you are already out, right? So for self-illuminating technologies, you already narrowed down your candidate to 3 types, meaning AMOLED -- micro OLED, sorry micro OLED -- micro LED and our Front-Lit LCoS.

首先，在尺寸上，這是最重要的，因為沒有合適的尺寸，您就無法製作精美的眼鏡，並且您會回到以前的失敗中，對嗎？所以尺寸是最重要的標準。為了達到合適的尺寸，顯然，你在談論微顯示器，你可以有兩種不同的類型。一種是我們所說的自發光型。另一個不是。自發光類型的重要性在於，因為它是自發光的，這意味著您不需要外部光學引擎來啟用照明，對吧？一旦你有一個外部光學引擎，尺寸，你已經不符合標準了。所以你已經出去了，對吧？因此，對於自發光技術，您已經將候選範圍縮小到 3 種類型，即 AMOLED——微型 OLED、抱歉微型 OLED——微型 LED 和我們的 Front-Lit LCoS。

I emphasize Front-Lit is very important because other types of LCoS are not self-illuminating, including our other LCoS Front-Lit as a module, because we are putting our LED alongside the microdisplay. And so from the customer's point of view, our display module is very similar in size and weight compared to micro LED and micro OLED, other self-illuminating technologies, right? So only these 3 types are self-illuminating, and only they can pass the first criteria, most importantly, the size.

我強調 Front-Lit 非常重要，因為其他類型的 LCoS 不是自發光的，包括我們的其他 LCoS Front-Lit 作為模塊，因為我們將 LED 放在微型顯示器旁邊。所以從客戶的角度來看，我們的顯示模塊與micro LED和micro OLED等其他自發光技術相比，在尺寸和重量上非常相似，對吧？所以只有這3種是自發光的，也只有它們能通過第一個標準，最重要的是尺寸。

Now the second problem is the brightness. The second biggest problem is brightness of the microdisplay. Why? Because I mentioned your microdisplays are sitting on the side. They need to pass the light through waveguide in the front. Waveguide, there are a couple of mainstream technologies in the whole we are offering, WLO is certainly one of them. But regardless of which type of technology you talk about for waveguide, the light efficiency is very poor, 5%, now people are very, very difficult to target right now, 5% light efficiency, meaning you are wasting most of your light, with vast majority of your light through the traveling in the optical mechanism.

現在第二個問題是亮度。第二大問題是微顯示器的亮度。為什麼？因為我提到你的微型顯示器坐在一邊。他們需要將光通過前面的波導。波導，我們提供的整體有幾種主流技術，WLO 肯定是其中之一。但是不管你談到波導的哪種技術，光效都很差，5%，現在人們非常非常難以瞄準，5%的光效，意味著你浪費了大部分光，絕大多數光通過光學機制傳播。

But human being requires certain brightness to see the display, right? So how do you resolve the issue? You need to have your microdisplay being very, very bright, right? So this second criteria, again, is vital, right? So from this second criteria's point of view, in our view, micro OLED is already out because micro OLED right now, you need improve its brightness by several orders of magnitude. It just unachievable in any foreseeable future in our view, right, because it's simply too dark.

但是人類需要一定的亮度才能看到顯示，對吧？那麼你如何解決這個問題呢？你需要讓你的微型顯示器非常非常明亮，對嗎？因此，第二個標準再次至關重要，對嗎？所以從這第二個標準來看，在我們看來，micro OLED已經出局了，因為micro OLED現在需要把它的亮度提高幾個數量級。在我們看來，在任何可預見的未來都無法實現，對，因為它實在是太黑暗了。

So now you are living with our LCoS microdisplay, which has enough brightness, and also micro LED. However, for micro LED, indeed, they can project with enough brightness, but micro LED can have only monochrome color in a display. So to make color display, right, I mentioned that's a fundamental requirement as well, they need RGB three panels combined. And with your RGB, you are failing your size test again. And also, you're failing your power consumption test, not to mention your cost test. So while there are talks about customers using micro LED from our insider's point of view, I think they have such hurdles and challenges that are just inconceivable to get around in any foreseeable future.

所以現在您正在使用我們的 LCoS 微型顯示器，它具有足夠的亮度，還有微型 LED。不過，對於micro LED來說，確實可以投射出足夠的亮度，但micro LED在顯示器上只能有單色。所以做彩色顯示器，對，我提到這也是一個基本要求，他們需要RGB三個面板組合。使用您的 RGB，您的尺寸測試又失敗了。而且，您的功耗測試未通過，更不用說您的成本測試了。因此，雖然從我們內部人士的角度來看，有關於客戶使用 micro LED 的討論，但我認為他們面臨的障礙和挑戰在任何可預見的未來都是不可想像的。

Now finally, back to our own Front-Lit LCoS Microdisplay. Admittedly, we introduced the technology years ago, but we kind of slowed down our development over the last couple of years. Why? Because the market was simply not there. However, we never stopped talking to our customers. Now with this renewed, a very vibrant interest of metaverse recently, we are seeing the very renewed interest in our LCoS again. So there are customers who are trying to utilize our existing Front-Lit LCoS product in their next-generation design, which admittedly is not ideal, right? They don't really effectively pass all the factors I just mentioned.

現在終於回到我們自己的前置式 LCoS 微顯示器。誠然，我們幾年前就引入了這項技術，但在過去幾年中我們的發展速度有所放緩。為什麼？因為市場根本不存在。但是，我們從未停止與客戶交談。現在，隨著最近元界的這種新的、非常活躍的興趣，我們再次看到對我們的 LCoS 的新興趣。所以有些客戶試圖在他們的下一代設計中使用我們現有的 Front-Lit LCoS 產品，這當然不是很理想，對吧？他們並沒有真正有效地通過我剛才提到的所有因素。

However, there are also customers who are taking a longer-term approach, and they are working with us starting from specs, discussions and joint developments for an idea Front-Lit LCoS Microdisplay that really fits the deal of all criteria that I just mentioned. And we are truly confident the technology is there. We just need a little bit of time and resources to make it happen. So I apologize for a slightly lengthy response, but this is a complicated issue. And I appreciate you asking the question and giving me the opportunity to explain it.

然而，也有一些客戶正在採取更長期的方法，他們正在與我們合作，從規格、討論和聯合開發開始，以獲得真正符合我剛才提到的所有標準的前照式 LCoS 微顯示器的想法。我們對技術的存在充滿信心。我們只需要一點時間和資源來實現它。所以我為稍微冗長的回復道歉，但這是一個複雜的問題。我很感謝你提出這個問題並給我機會解釋它。

Very detailed question and help us to understand a lot about the difference between the technologies. Thank you.

非常詳細的問題，幫助我們了解了很多關於技術之間的差異。謝謝你。

Next question coming from the line of Donnie Teng with Nomura Securities.

下一個問題來自野村證券的 Donnie Teng。

I just have two very short questions. First one is that it sounds like back in late last year, originally, I think we were relatively positive on the first quarter outlook. And then maybe after these 1 to 2 months, the market has been a little bit weaker than expected. So just curious about that. What kind of products in that has been weaker than what you have seen maybe for 1, 2 months ago, for example, it's like smartphone or tablet or any other application that you are seeing or weaker than expected demand in the past 1 to 2 months? And secondly is regarding to the gross margin, again. So I remember that automotive driver IC gross margin should be higher than corporate average. So I'm just curious that if looking at the fourth quarter gross margin and the first quarter gross margin, does automotive driver IC gross margin all higher than corporate average in these 2 quarters? Or it's also declining a little bit in the first quarter? Thank you.

我只有兩個非常簡短的問題。第一個是這聽起來像是去年年底，最初，我認為我們對第一季度的前景相對樂觀。然後也許在這 1 到 2 個月之後，市場比預期的要弱一些。所以只是好奇。什麼樣的產品比你在 1 到 2 個月前看到的要弱，例如，你看到的智能手機或平板電腦或任何其他應用程序，或者在過去 1 到 2 個月內比預期的需求弱?其次是關於毛利率。所以我記得汽車驅動IC毛利率應該高於企業平均水平。所以我很好奇，如果看看第四季度的毛利率和第一季度的毛利率，這兩個季度的汽車驅動 IC 毛利率是否都高於企業平均水平？還是在第一季度也有所下降？謝謝你。

Firstly, on the first quarter outlook, I think your impression about like slowing the market demand. I think we kind of get a similar feeling. I think it's primarily for smartphone. And again, automotive remained very strong. And TV, I think, overall, is slow, although we feel there are talks about customers absorbing their inventory. And hopefully, starting from Q2 for the second half, there will be renewed demand coming from TV. And IT, the visibility is not great in a sense that end customers are revising up their forecast, rather they are staying on the sideline, but they are not revising down their forecast either, right? So I think your impression of slowing down forecast, maybe, primarily driven by smartphone.

首先，關於第一季度的前景，我認為您對市場需求放緩的印象。我想我們會有類似的感覺。我認為它主要用於智能手機。再一次，汽車仍然非常強勁。電視，我認為，總體而言，速度很慢，儘管我們覺得有人在談論客戶吸收他們的庫存。並且希望，從第二季度開始，電視將有新的需求。而 IT，從某種意義上說，終端客戶正在上調他們的預測，而是保持觀望，但他們也沒有下調他們的預測，可見度並不高，對吧？因此，我認為您對放慢預測的印象可能主要是由智能手機驅動的。

Your second question about automotive, I think gross margin and related to automotive, I think, certainly, automotive is gross margin higher than our average. And I think more importantly, the visibility is much better as well. Visibility not in terms of just sales forecast, but also in terms of pricing, right? I cannot say I have very strong visibility for TV monitor, notebook or other things. But I can say with good confidence, the visibility of pricing. So I think that's an important factor.

關於汽車的第二個問題，我認為毛利率與汽車有關，我認為，汽車的毛利率當然高於我們的平均水平。我認為更重要的是，能見度也更好。可見性不僅體現在銷售預測方面，還體現在定價方面，對吧？我不能說我對電視顯示器、筆記本或其他東西有很強的能見度。但我可以滿懷信心地說，定價的可見性。所以我認為這是一個重要因素。

And also, overall, I think in Q1, for example, large display driver, I think, based on our guidance is going to be about flat, while overall guidance is lower, right? And lastly, large display driver has lower gross margin compared to -- last year compared to small smartphone or tablet, certainly auto. So I think that also explains partially the lower gross margin on top of the explanation I gave to Tristan earlier.

而且，總體而言，我認為在第一季度，例如，大型顯示器驅動器，我認為，基於我們的指導將是平的，而總體指導較低，對吧？最後，與去年相比，與小型智能手機或平板電腦（當然是汽車）相比，大型顯示器驅動器的毛利率較低。所以我認為這也部分解釋了我之前給特里斯坦的解釋之外的較低毛利率。

Okay. Got it. So just to clarify. So in terms of the ranking of the gross margin, it's like auto is the highest, right, and followed by largely like small, medium driver IC, and lastly, large display driver IC prices. Is that correct?

好的。知道了。所以只是為了澄清。所以從毛利率的排名來看，汽車是最高的，對，其次是中小型驅動IC，最後是大型顯示驅動IC價格。那是對的嗎？

Correct.

正確的。

And I'm seeing no further for the questions at this time. I would now like to turn the call back over to Jordan Wu for any closing remarks.

我目前看不到這些問題的更多信息。我現在想將電話轉回給 Jordan Wu 以完成任何結束語。

As a final note, Eric Li, our Chief IR/PR Officer, will maintain investor meeting, our marketing activities and continue to attend investor conferences. We'll announce the details as they come about. Thank you, and have a nice day.

最後一點，我們的首席 IR/PR 官 Eric Li 將維持投資者會議、我們的營銷活動並繼續參加投資者會議。我們將在它們出現時公佈細節。謝謝你，祝你有美好的一天。

Ladies and gentlemen, that does conclude our conference for today. Thank you for your participation. You may now disconnect.

女士們先生們，今天的會議到此結束。感謝您的參與。您現在可以斷開連接。