What Display Daily thinks: Via has optical bonding, camera, and touch display IP. It doesn’t have anything in the OLED space and it looks like a company that has made some strategic errors over the course of the last five years, as well as taking hit from the pandemic shutdowns of its operations in China.
Why the interest? It still has channels and reach into the automotive sector. It is probably a good target for an acquisition or a weighted partnership. Strategic partnerships are not always worth the paper they are not written on, but Antolin should be of interest to anyone looking to make inroads into automotive displays. The German speaking regions of Europe are facing a recessionary environment, and while they are the biggest economic engine of Europe, they are hard markets to crack under any circumstance.
There’s a lot of display business opportunity at Via, but not at any price, and not without a significant partnership or strategic ownership stake. The founder has been replaced as CEO by the former CMO, which signals a board and company ready to make changes, and that may mean a more aggressive sales and marketing posture.
Via Optronics Works to Manage Automotive Display Expectations
We just reported on an interesting strategic partnership between Via and Antolin that, on paper at least, looks like it could be a good combination of skillsets. However, Via is not necessarily in a good position right now. The company experienced unpredictable changes in its order patterns the first half of this year with a shift in demand from key customers, especially in the electric vehicle (EV) sector of the automotive market.
Due to external factors and the changing macro environment, the company is seeing a decrease in both demand and average selling prices for its products. This has negatively affected its revenue. For 2023, it anticipated revenue to be between €150 million and €160 million ($164-175 million), a reduction from their previous estimation which aligned with their 2022 revenue of €218.5 million ($239 million).
In reaction to these challenges, the company is launching several initiatives aimed at improving performance. It plans to make better use of current production capabilities with an emphasis on boosting profitable organic sales. The company is also looking into deeper partnerships and potential strategic alliances in the market, like the one with Antolin while also considering downsizing its workforce to better align with the actual demand.
The company has also acknowledged delays in reporting financials. The company discovered problems concerning the application of IAS 21 (an International Accounting Standard related to the effects of changes in foreign exchange rates) and possibly other standards. This will lead to revisions in the accounts for the year ending December 31, 2021, and for the fourth quarter and full year of 2022 as they were previously reported.
