“Rugged Computing Solutions”

An Impressive Start to 2021

It is said that managing growth is one of the most challenging tasks in business, but if Winmate’s YTD 2021 growth is any indication, Chairman Ken Lu and his team are up to the task. After winning long-term supply contracts from two global Tier 1 customers last year, Winmate’s earnings and revenues have grown handsomely in 2021, far outpacing its industry peers. In 1Q21, Winmate delivered 67% growth in revenue, 56% growth in net income, and a net profit margin of 14%. No other local IPC player matched these numbers. Furthermore, May revenues reached a record high of NT$253mn, surpassing the previous single-month record high of Sep 2020 by 20% and rising by 114% versus May 2020.

Winmate is the great enabler of enterprise mobility

When we ask Ken what is driving growth in the rugged tablet industry, he explains, “Winmate is at the forefront of the global mega-trend towards Enterprise Mobility. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, companies realized they needed to embrace digital transformation to remain competitive. But now, the pace of change has accelerated, and we expect this increased demand for mobility to continue even in the post-pandemic world. Enterprise Mobility is an essential step in implementing Industry 4.0, Edge Computing, and smart manufacturing; and our products allow clients to accelerate the process of rolling out these advanced technologies across their global operations. We have more than 25 years of experience in this field, have the complete library of enterprise mobility solutions, and help companies solve the challenges they face in each stage of the realization of mobility – including their choice of mobility hardware, data security solutions, and operating software. This allows our clients to employ the devices and applications that are best-suited to their industry, eventually allowing their employees to handle work anytime, anywhere, while improving their productivity and efficiency."

"With service offices throughout the U.S., Canada, China, and Taiwan, Winmate can offer responsive, reliable, and quick customer support on all of our products.”

Ken continues, “Industries such as utilities, mining, oil, natural gas were some of the earliest adaptors of Enterprise Mobility solutions due to their widely dispersed workforce. These industries frequently have high-risk work environments, putting higher demands on the durability of mobile devices. Over the past decade, rugged tablets have become indispensable tools to these early adaptors and have been the key tool enabling Enterprise Mobility. Those players who are behind the curve are now investing heavily to catch up. We can and will supply their needs, as we already have a complete line of rugged tablet PCs that are designed to withstand the harshest challenges of these operating environments, such as hard knocks, long drops, extreme high and low temperatures, moisture, dust, and even explosions."

Winmate’s Next Step: Entering the rugged notebook market

While Winmate is very happy with its success in rugged tablet market over the past several years, the company’s ambitions do not end there. Says Ken, “We have established a firm foothold in the rugged tablet market and have strong product solutions for the key demand segments. Next, we are setting our sites on breaking into the rugged laptop market. Much like the rugged tablet market, the rugged laptop market has an oligopolistic structure with high barriers to entry. Our capabilities include laptop casing exterior design, heat dissipation expertise and structural design for interior components, as well as product testing and certification expertise. We are excited about our prospects for success in the rugged laptop market and expect rugged laptops to begin contributing to revenue growth within the next 24 months, while becoming a sustainable driver of revenue growth over the long term.”

The 5-year Outlook: 20%+ annual revenue growth with enhanced production efficiency

When we ask Ken to comment on Winmate’s outlook for future growth, he says, “Our goal is to maintain a stable net margin in 2021, while delivering 20%+ revenue growth this year and over the next 5 years. We are very optimistic on the prospects for new client wins and on our prospects for success in the rugged laptop market. Additionally, we will continue to share earnings via cash dividend payouts, targeting a payout of 75% or above.”