Notebook battery maker Simplo Technology has reported NT$9.753 billion (US$305.56 million) in revenues for the second quarter of 2010, up 18.8% sequentially. The Taiwan-based company is bullish on the third quarter due to rising orders for tablet PC batteries, but warns of a possible decline in profit margin from a weakening US dollar and a shipment mix that is shifting toward lower-price products.

Simplo is projecting revenues of NT$10-10.2 billion in revenues for the third quarter but gross margin could fall from 14.47% in the second quarter to 14-14.28%, according to the company.

In regards to the upcoming merger of fellow battery makers Dynapack International Technology and Celxpert Energy, Simplo chairman Sung Fu-Hsin said that one plus one will not equal two. Mergers are complicated matters especially when it comes to combining different cultures and manufacturing technologies, he added.

On electric car batteries, Sung indicated that Shanghai and the northeast and western regions of China will be the Simplo's main operation bases. He expects samples to be ready before year's end and electric car batteries will contribute NT$1 billion in revenues in 2011.

Sung also revealed that Simplo will indeed follow its notebook clients to set up facilities in Chongqing of China's Sichuan Province, and will be one of the first battery makers to do so. More details about the expansion in the area will be announced on a later date, he said.