ASE posts surprise profit

Advanced Semiconductor Engine-ering Inc (日月光半導體) posted an unexpected profit in the second quarter after improving its gross margins. The company reported a net income of NT$74 million (US$2.2 million), or NT$0.02 a share, compared with a loss of NT$618 million, or NT$0.19, a year earlier. Sales rose 28 percent to NT$10.9 billion. Gross margins, which shows how much a company earned after paying production expenses, rose to 17.6 percent at Advanced Semiconductor's chip-assembly business from 12.4 percent in the year-ago period, the company said in a statement. Advanced Semiconductor said it improved its gross margins in that business to 5.5 percent in the second quarter from 4.7 percent a year ago.