Phison Electronics Corp (群聯電子), which supplies NAND flash memory controllers and modules, yesterday said that its net profit rebounded 41 percent last quarter as plunging chip prices stimulated demand for memory storage.
The recovery paves the way for the arrival of the industry’s peak season this quarter, with growing signs indicating rising demand across the board — smartphones, tablets and computers, Phison said in a statement.
Phison expects a significant growth in shipments of driver ICs for NAND flash memory chips used in embedded multimedia cards (eMMC) based on information from its major eMMC client.
eMMCs are mostly used in smartphones and tablets for data storage.
It also expects robust shipment growth for driver ICs for NAND flash memory chips used in solid-state-drives (SSD), thanks to its major client’s market share gains and peak seasonal demand, the statement said.
SSD is gradually replacing hard disk drives as the main data storage for computers.
During the April-to-June period, net profit surged to NT$1.24 billion (US$40.24 million), compared with NT$882.3 million in the first quarter, the statement said.
That translated into earnings per share of NT$6.27, up from NT$4.48.
Gross margin improved to 22.54 percent last quarter from 18.9 percent in the prior quarter.
“The first quarter was the worst period of this year after NAND flash memory experienced two straight quarters of price correction and inventory adjustment,” Phison said.
“The reduction in prices effectively spurred demand, supported by the rising penetration of SSD. Prices have fallen to a sweet spot,” the company said.
The recovery began in the quarter ending June 30, backed by increasing memory space for smartphones, tablets, industrial devices and vehicles, Phison said.
Shipments of NAND flash driver ICs rose 15 percent sequentially last quarter. with those used in eMMCs growing the fastest at 25 percent quarter-on-quarter, Phison said.
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