Chunghwa Precision Test Tech Co (CHPT, 中華精測), the nation’s largest provider of probe card testing services, yesterday reported a 13 percent quarterly decline in net profit for last quarter as a months-long reliability concern eroded its profit margin.
The company’s research and development team has fixed the problem and expects gross margins to pick up in the coming quarters, it said in a statement.
The company has also made progress in expanding its market and expects to secure orders next quarter from makers of application processors, ASICs and RF chips, it said.
It is “cautiously optimistic” about its business outlook, it said.
With the anticipated arrival of the 5G and artificial intelligence (AI) era, “there will be plenty of chips to be used for all sorts of applications from cloud devices to edge computing devices. It will create new business opportunities for probe cards,” CHPT president Scott Huang (黃水可) said in the statement.
During the three months to September, net profit fell to NT$179 million (US$5.82 million), compared with NT$206 million in the second quarter.
Earnings per share dropped to NT$5.46 from NT$6.28, the statement showed.
On an annual basis, net profit plunged 22.84 percent from NT$232 million, or NT$7.49 a share.
Gross margin was 50.1 percent last quarter, down from 55.5 percent in the second quarter and 56.9 percent in the third quarter last year, the statement showed.
Revenue expanded 4.5 percent quarterly to NT$928 million last quarter, hitting the highest level in a year, from NT$888 million in the second quarter. Compared with a year ago, revenue edged up 0.85 percent from NT$936 million.
CHPT counts Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電), Qualcomm Inc and Hisilicon Technologies Co (海思半導體), a chip designing arm of Huawei Technologies Co (華為), among its top clients, with foundry clients contributing 61 percent to its revenue last quarter, according to the statement.
The company in August set its capital expenditure for this year at NT$210 million, 40 percent higher than last year’s NT$150 million.
CHPT is set to disclose its detailed financial figures and business outlook on Friday next week.
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