Siliconware Precision Industries Co (SPIL, 矽品精密), the nation’s No. 2 chip testing and packaging service provider, yesterday reported that its net income rose 49.12 percent annually last quarter to NT$3.25 billion (US$106.9 million) on the back of improved gross margin.
However, the figure represented a 3.41 percent sequential decline from the second-quarter figure of NT$3.37 billion, according to the company’s financial statement.
Gross margin rose 2.5 percentage points from a year earlier to 25.6 percent last quarter. On a quarterly basis, gross margin dropped from 25.8 percent in the second quarter, the statement showed.
This quarter, revenue is expected to fall to between NT$19.7 billion and NT$21 billion, down 3 percent to 9 percent from last quarter’s NT$21.65 billion, company chairman Bough Lin (林文伯) told investors at a conference call.
Lin blamed customer inventory correction for the quarterly decline in revenue.
“Sales of mobile phones, PCs and TVs in China fell short of market expectations, causing some [excessive] inventories on the supply chain,” Lin said.
Lin expected inventory to be digested due to rising demand from the upcoming Bachelor’s Day, Christmas and Lunar New Year celebrations.
“It is possible that inventory restocking could occur at the end of this year,” Lin said.
Communication applications are SPIL’s biggest revenue source and contributed 61 percent of revenue last quarter, while Asia is the largest market for the company, accounting for 39 percent of its exports.
Gross margin is expected to drop further to between 23 and 25 percent this quarter, Lin said.
Operating profit margin might fall by between 16 and 19 percent this quarter, compared with 16.7 percent last quarter, he projected.
Giving his forecast for the world’s semiconductor industry, Lin expected total revenue to grow by a high-single-digit percent annually next year, supported by rising demand for the Internet of Things, such as wearable devices.
“We expect to outgrow the [global semiconductor] industry,” Lin said.
Lin said he was optimistic about the global semiconductor industry as economic recovery in the US looked healthy and demand for mobile devices was still on the rise.
SPIL plans to spend NT$12 billion primarily on new advanced equipment for chips used in smartphones, wearable devices and networking equipment, according to Lin.
This year, SPIL forecasts record-high capital spending of NT$21.1 billion.
SPIL shares surged 2.94 percent to NT$41.95 in Taipei trading yesterday, outperforming the TAIEX, which lost 0.21 percent.
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