Powerchip Semiconductor Corp (力晶半導體), Taiwan's second-largest computer memory-chip maker, said net income in the first quarter increased 70 percent from a year ago as chip prices rose to more than the cost of production.
Powerchip posted an unaudited net income of about NT$650 million (US$18.6 million) in the first three months of the year, compared with NT$383 million a year ago, President Michael Tsai (蔡國智) said in an interview.
Chip prices have more than tripled since early November, after personal-computer makers started adding more memory chips to enable the machines to run Microsoft Corp's new software. ProMos Technologies Inc (茂德科技), Powerchip's rival, said it turned to a profit in the first quarter, its first since the last three months of 2000.
Powerchip, which expects to start trial production of 300mm silicon wafers at a new chip plant in June, may start building another such unit by the end of next year, Tsai said. More chips can be cut from 300mm wafers, compared with the 200mm industrial standard, increasing output and lowering production costs by almost a third.
"That's the original plan," Tsai said. "It could be earlier if another partner comes along."
Japan's Elpida Memory Inc may partner Powerchip, the Chinese-language Economic Daily News said yesterday, without citing anyone. Elpida, the venture formed between Hitachi Ltd and NEC Corp, may also relocate a chip plant under construction in Japan to Taiwan, the paper said.
Tsai declined to confirm the report, saying he wouldn't be surprised if the matter was being discussed. Last month, Mitsubishi Electric Corp and Hitachi said they entered into discussions to merge their system-chip businesses, which would create the world's fourth-largest chipmaker. Powerchip makes chips for Mitsubishi under a technology partnership.
As the memory-chip market recovers from its worst slump on record last year, Powerchip plans to speed up production at its new plant. It will raise spending this year by 43 percent to NT$30 billion from its original plan to pay for equipment for the plant.
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