Memory module supplier Adata Technology Co (威剛科技) yesterday said that its core operations swung back into profit last quarter, buoyed by peak season demand for DRAM.
Third-quarter operating profit totaled NT$51.28 million (US$1.67 million), compared with an operating loss of NT$196 million in the second quarter.
However, net profit still tumbled 61 percent to NT$44.42 million last quarter, compared with NT$113 million in the previous quarter, attributable to non-operating losses from its subsidiaries, such as Taiwan Sports Lottery Co (台灣運彩).
Earnings per share (EPS) fell to NT$0.2 last quarter from NT$0.52 in the prior quarter.
On an annual basis, net profit plunged 94 percent from NT$747.88 million, or NT$3.44 per share.
In the first three quarters of the year, the Taipei-based memory module supplier posted a net profit of NT$216.76 million, down 88 percent from NT$1.84 billion in the same period last year.
EPS sank to NT$0.99 from NT$8.45 a year earlier.
DRAM products contributed 63 percent to the firm’s January-to-September revenue of NT$8.75 billion, while NAND flash and other products accounted for the remainder, Adata said.
Adata also reported its first annual decline in monthly revenue since June, with sales dipping 12.35 percent to NT$2.4 billion last month.
As for next year, the company said it expects “DRAM prices to slide slightly next year, but the market would remain as new supply would be limited.”
However, Adata expects NAND flash memory chipmakers to face a bumpy road ahead, as they are locked in a race for capacity and technology migrations.
Market researcher TrendForce Corp (集邦科技) forecast that NAND flash chips would tumble by 25 to 30 percent annually next year due to oversupply, while DRAM chip prices would drop at an annual pace of 15 to 20 percent.
Separately, memory chipmaker Winbond Electronics Corp (華邦電) posted a 3.79 percent decline in revenue for last month to NT$4.16 billion from NT$4.32 billion in September.
That brought the chipmaker’s revenue in the first 10 months of the year to NT$43.48 billion, up 11.83 percent from NT$38.89 billion in the prior year.
Macronix International Co (旺宏), the world’s No. 1 NOR flash memory chipmaker, said that revenue rose 3.9 percent to NT$3.9 billion from NT$3.75 billion in September.
Aggregate revenue climbed 14.7 percent to NT$31.87 billion in the first 10 months, from NT$27.78 billion in the same period last year.
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