Siliconware Precision Industry Co (矽品精密), the nation’s second-largest chip packaging and testing company, posted net income of NT$3.19 billion (US$95.7 million) for the June-September quarter, 37 percent lower than the NT$5.057 billion for the same period last year but 32.3 percent higher than the second quarter’s NT$2.41 billion.
Diluted earnings per share (EPS) for the third quarter were NT$1.02, the company said in a statement yesterday. That figure compared with NT$1.58 from the same period last year, company data showed.
The operating margin was 18 percent for the third quarter, up from 15 percent for the second quarter but down from 27.3 percent a year earlier, the company said in the statement. Quarterly revenue dropped 3.7 percent year-on-year to NT$17.24 billion but rose 8.8 percent quarter-on-quarter, it said.
Siliconware Precision’s third-quarter profit was generally better than analyst forecasts. Before yesterday’s investors conference, Merrill Lynch estimated Siliconware Precision’s third-quarter profit at NT$2.61 billion with an operating margin of 18.5 percent. Deutsche Bank predicted a quarterly EPS of between NT$0.86 and NT$0.89 with an operating margin of between 16.8 percent and 17.1 percent.
For the first three quarters, the company saw its net profit drop 42.24 percent to NT$7.35 billion with an EPS of NT$2.34.
Shares of Siliconware Precision rose 6.48 percent to NT$30.4 yesterday on the Taiwan Stock Exchange ahead of the quarterly investors conference. The stock has plunged 47.86 percent so far this year.
During the conference, the firm said falling average selling prices would continue to squeeze its operating margin between 14 percent and 16 percent in the fourth quarter, down from 18 percent in the third quarter, while fourth-quarter revenue may fall between 8 percent and 13 percent from NT$17.24 billion in the third quarter.
Looking ahead, Siliconware Precision chairman Lin Wen-po (林文伯) said via Webcast that he expected the semiconductor market would bottom out overall by the end of the second quarter next year.
As the chip industry is very likely to show zero growth or even a mild decline next year, Lin said that the best strategy for the company would be to hold cash. In the meantime, he added, the firm had no specific plans for capital spending for the first half of next year.
By last month, Siliconware Precision had booked a long-term debt position of NT$2.98 billion, with cash and cash equivalents of NT$13.08 billion, company figures showed.
The firm has earmarked NT$7.94 billion for capital expenditure this year to date; it previously said that it planned to allocate NT$10 billion for this year.
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