VIA optronics ($VIAO) made its debut on the NYSE Friday, with an initial public offering priced on the low end of expectations to raise $93 million, but the display technology company still sees a bright future ahead.
"We are right now at a breaking point. We are an emerging market, and we cannot grow that much as we want organically so we have to put some investment in," said Jurgen Eichner, Via optronics CEO. "This is basically what we need the proceeds for."
The initial public offering was priced at $15, but opened at $12. By mid-afternoon shares were trading around $10.
VIA builds sunlight-readable displays with wide temperature ranges and screens with touch and gesture features. Customers of the German-based manufacturer include household names like Dell, HP, Ferrari, and BMW.
Despite the coronavirus pandemic, the need for screen tech is still widespread and growing, according to the CEO.
"Our factory was actually shut down in China for one week," Eichner said, regarding first quarter impacts from the coronavirus pandemic that didn't derail the company's targets for the year.
"We are right now fully running again, and on top of that, actually, we have some advantages of that because it boosted the home office, home learning markets," he added.
The manufacturer also apparently had few issues with its supply chain, escaping adverse impacts of global supply networks disrupted by COVID-19 even with production facilities in its native Germany, China, and Japan.
"Our supply chain has not been affected, to be honest. One of the reasons is that we do most of the products actually in-house, so we buy only raw materials and, of course, some display glass from the display manufacturer," said Eichner. "So we've been very lucky."
If you have a flexible spending account, here's some short information for you so you don't leave money on the table.
With high healthcare costs, bills can quickly add up. In some cases, it is possible to negotiate your medical bills. Barak Richman, law professor at George Washington University, joined Cheddar News to discuss the easiest way to talk to medical debt companies about what's owed.
Millions of people have selected insurance plans for 2024 but sometimes navigating them can be tricky time consuming and expensive. Paula Pant, host of 'Afford Anything' podcast, joined Cheddar News to break down what's needed to know about their insurance plans.
The European Union is investigating Elon Musk's X over alleged illicit content and disinformation on its platform. Cheddar News breaks it all down and discusses what it could mean for users.
Adobe and Figma called off their $20 million merger, Southwest Airlines gets fined, Nippon Steel is buying U.S. Steel and oil and gas prices surge after a pause in shipments.
With more employees being called back to the office, many workers are suddenly protesting by being in the office for as little time as possible. As the term suggests, coffee-badging means coming in for just enough time to have a cup of coffee, show your face, and swipe your badge.
Japan's Nippon steel is buying U.S. Steel for $14.9 billion.
Southwest Airlines will pay a $35 million fine as part of a settlement over a 2022 holiday season disaster that saw the airline cancel thousands of flights and leave millions of people stranded.
Cheddar News' Need2Know is brought to you by Securitize, which helps unlock broader access to alternative investments in private businesses, funds, and other alternative assets. The private credit boom is here and the Hamilton Lane Senior Credit Opportunities Fund has tripled in assets under management in just six months from November 2022 through April this year. Visit Securitize.io to learn more.
Stocks opened slightly higher after Monday's opening bell after several weeks of gains as the year closes out.
