It is hard to be profitable supplying to Apple, no matter how superior one’s technology. Japan’s Sharp, maker of device displays, knows this better than most. Its Igzo screen technology, good enough to make it into some Apple products, should have ensured its survival even as it exited other failing divisions. Instead, the LCD technology, too, seems set for a new home. 21st of Sept, reports intensified that Sharp will spin off its display technology business. Display is the company’s largest revenue generator but also its largest lossmaker. Despite its stronger technology, it has lost out to rivals with cheaper production and struggled as competition in China has worsened.
Taiwan’s Hon Hai
is a mooted investor. It would be a plausible choice of white knight. A big Apple contractor — analysts estimate that the US-based company accounts for two-fifths of Hon Hai’s top line — the Taiwanese assembler already has an LCD joint venture with Sharp. Hon Hai has also flirted with taking a stake in Sharp’s equity on more than one occasion.