Chip tester and packager Powertech Technology Inc (力成科技) on Tuesday gave a positive outlook for the current quarter and the second half of this year after earnings declined in the first quarter.
Combined revenue totaled NT$14.43 billion (US$467.37 million) in the first quarter, year-on-year and quarter-on-quarter declines of 9.3 percent and 13.3 percent respectively.
Earnings per share were NT$1.36, the lowest level in nearly three years.
Powertech chairman D.K. Tsai (蔡篤恭) attributed the poor showing to an ongoing trade dispute between the US and China that has weakened demand for chips.
“The market should recover soon, as companies have been cutting inventory,” Tsai said.
The firm reported a 54.9 percent increase in SiP/module services, which constituted 10 percent of revenue. Testing services accounted for 25 percent and packaging services 65 percent of revenue.
DRAM testing and packaging declined 24.6 percent, while the flash segment rose 48.9 percent.
DRAM prices could soon stabilize, although they are still retreating, the firm said.
Flash chips are close to cost prices, it added.
Forecasting that revenue should slightly increase this month, or at the least match last month’s results, Tsai said that the company remains optimistic about the arrival of new products that employ innovative technologies such as the Internet of Things and artificial intelligence.
“[These technologies] are to drive the market dynamic and create opportunities for semiconductor manufacturers, which will lead to robust demand for high-speed calculations and data storage,” Tsai said.
The firm is continuing to develop a logic chip segment and construction of a new fab in the Hsinchu Science Park (新竹科學園區) is underway and should be completed next year.
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