Taiwanese LED manufacturer AOT projected significant growth in the UV LED market after recently announcing last month’s revenues, according to a Chinese-media LaoYaoBao report.

UV LEDs will show significant growth in 2015, said the company General Manager Rong Xi Fang.

His optimistic outlook is based on Apple’s usage of UV adhesives to protect sensor components from UV damage. The Cupertino company has turned to UV LEDs to replace traditional UV mercury lamps for the curing process, which has spurred demands in the UV LED market. Although, UV LEDs only make up a small portion of AOT’s LED product portfolio, it is expected to undergo soaring growths next year. Moreover, there will also be growth in the lighting sector in 2015.

The UV LED market is estimated to grow at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 43% from 2012 to 2017, said Fang. Most UV LED products are for UV curing applications, while other applications include PCB exposure, semiconductor lithography, medical and sanitary applications. These markets are expected to expand over the years. Strong market demands and lower performance base periods will result in higher UV LED revenue growths in 2015.

UV LED products have a higher entry level because of the technology involved in the product wavelengths, irradiance and thermal dissipation. Additionally, UV LED manufacturers need to customize their products to meet client demands, and have the R&D capacity to design optical films and other systems. Hence, it is a highly profitable and relatively unexplored niche market.

The invisible LEDs small market size cannot match general lighting and backlight application markets, but its high technology and strong customized demands has created a very high entry level. The products profitability are much more evident than white LEDs, and Taiwanese LED manufacturers entering this sector can acquire certain advantages.

Additionally, since signing a patent agreement with Nichia, AOT’s wide color gamut products were successfully introduced into high-end smartphones and LED TVs. The company expects it will have more clients this year. AOT has an optimistic outlook for 2015, and its revenues are expected to increase each quarter, and gross profits are likely to rebound by more than 20% for a single quarter.

Despite a revenue dip of 2.8% compared to December 2014, AOT revenues in January 2015 were up 15.4% YoY to NT $633 million (US $20.12 million).

The company received strong 1Q15 orders, and shipment conditions were better than expected. AOT’s projects revenue performance in March 2015 will be better than January, and expects further growth in the following quarters. AOT might even set a new revenue record in 3Q15.