Sporting a larger screen size, case redesign and various under-the-hood improvements, the iPhone 6 is widely expected to be the biggest refresh of Apple’s smartphone in years. That anticipation is having a major knock-on effect with Apple’s component makers, too.

We reported last month that Apple has placed an unprecedented number of orders for the iPhone 6, and that seems to be backed up by recently announced July sales for Taiwan-based Apple casing supplier Catcher Technology.

Based on growth in the Apple-driven smartphone sector, the company had its second best month in history, with monthly earnings of $154.6 million. This marks a whopping 36.8 percent increase compared to the same month in 2013.

In a research note, Taipei-based Yuanta Securities Jeff Pu wrote that, “We believe the smartphone strength was driven by earlier than expected iPhone 6 ramp up, largely offsetting weakness seen in other smartphones such as the Sony Xperia Z2 and HTC M8. This also suggests that Catcher remains on track to accelerate its iPhone 6 shipments from July.”

Pu expects Catcher’s sales to grow by 7 percent sequentially based on increased order from the iPhone 6 and stable demand for the MacBook, countering weak orders from rival companies HTC and Sony.

Catcher is reportedly involved with supplying casing for the 4.7-inch iPhone 6, while Foxconn is supposedly responsible for casings for the larger 5.5-inch “phablet” iPhone 6 variant.

The 4.7-inch iPhone 6 is expected to be unveiled September 9.

Source: Patently Apple