Powerchip posts third quarterly loss, pulled down by low prices of PC chips

Powerchip Semiconductor Corp (力晶半導體), the nation's top manufacturer of computer-memory chips, posted a loss for a third straight quarter after a glut pulled down prices of chips used in personal computers. The company cut capital spending by 45 percent this year from last year.

The fourth-quarter net loss was NT$14.1 billion (US$437.5 million), or NT$1.83 a share, compared with a record profit of NT$15.33 billion profit, or NT$2.47 a share, a year earlier.

Hsinchu-based Powerchip and smaller rival Nanya Technology Corp (南亞科技) both reported losses after computer makers didn't order as much as producers predicted.

The chipmaker will cut capital spending to NT$35.1 billion this year, from last year's NT$63.4 billion, company president Brian Shieh (謝再居) told investors and reporters at a briefing in Taipei yesterday. The company will also spin off its 8-inch factory in April, Shieh said.

Powerchip shares rose 2.8 percent to close at NT$13 on the Taiwan Stock Exchange, before the earnings were released. The company may break even in the second quarter and return to profit in the second half of the year, chairman Frank Huang (黃崇仁) said.