MStar Semiconductor Inc (Cayman) (開曼晨星半導體), the world’s top TV chipmaker, yesterday said its net income grew 7.2 percent on the back of seasonally high demand for its television chips and a robust increase in handset chip shipments.
In the quarter ended Sept. 30, MStar’s net income expanded to NT$1.62 billion, or earnings per share (EPS) of NT$3.06, compared with NT$1.51 billion, or EPS of NT$2.86, in the second quarter, according to the company’s financial statement.
Last quarter’s figure represented a fall of 5.4 percent when compared with NT$1.71 billion, or EPS of NT$2.70, a year earlier.
As the growth momentum in mobile phone chips carries into this quarter, MStar expects revenues to be little changed in the usually-slow fourth quarter. In the best-case scenario, revenues could grow 3 percent to US$329 million, from last quarter’s US$320 million. In the worst-case scenario, revenues could fall 3 percent to US$311 million, the company said.
The forecast was mostly in line with an estimate made by Credit Suisse, analyst Randy Abrams said in a research note yesterday.
“In the slow season, TV chips will drop slightly by just 5 percent [in revenues], which will be offset by growth in our handset chip business,” MStar chairman Wayne Liang (梁公偉) told investors yesterday. “We are conservative about the [revenue] forecast because of uncertainty in the macroeconomy.”
Shipments of mobile phone chips would grow at a quarterly pace of between 30 percent to 50 percent again this quarter as demand for new chips is on the rise, Liang said.
MStar recently started shipping new chips — which allow users to shop by swiping their mobile phones — to Chinese mobile phone maker Beijing Tianyu Communication Equipment Co (天宇朗通). In August, Liang said the company aimed to ship between 30 million and 60 million chips used in mobile phones this year.
That rapid growth would boost the handset chip business’ contribution to 15 percent of this quarter’s total revenues, compared with 10 percent last quarter, Liang said.
TV chips are the company’s biggest revenue source, contributing 75 percent last quarter.
Next quarter, MStar’s new 3.75-generation ARM-based chips for smartphones running the Android operating system are set to hit the market, Liang said.
He said the company also expects set-top box chips to make up 5 percent of its revenues this quarter after it won more orders and new customers in Europe and emerging markets, such as China, India, Africa and Latin America.
The company has accumulated about 10 to 20 customers for its set-top box chips, Liang said.
MStar said gross margin is expected to fall in a range between 40 percent and 42 percent this quarter, compared with 42.1 percent last quarter, a figure which also matches Credit Suisse’s expectations.
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