Advanced Semiconductor Engineer-ing Inc (ASE, 日月光半導體), the world's largest semiconductor packaging and testing firm, yesterday warned that first-quarter revenue could drop between 12 percent and 14 percent owing to seasonal factors and weak market sentiment.
"First quarter is historically a slow season, as there are less working days. Furthermore, demand visibility is unlikely to improve before the second quarter," chief financial officer Joseph Tung (董宏恩) told an investor conference.
Despite weak market sentiment, Tung said the company remained upbeat about its growth prospects as the outsourcing trend was expected to accelerate this year, which would benefit ASE.
ASE also reported that fourth-quarter net profit expanded 35 percent to NT$3.7 billion (US$114.9 million) from NT$2.73 billion a year ago. However, quarterly profit was down 12 percent from the third quarter's NT$4.23 billion owing to rising operating expenses and higher taxes, Tung said.
"Last quarter was a good quarter for ASE, as revenues and earnings both reached an all-time high. Revenues grew 4 percent quarter-on-quarter to NT$28.98 billion last quarter, while gross and operating margins both reached historical highs of 32.3 percent and 22.9 percent respectively," Tung said.
However, the gross margin is expected to slide to 25 percent to 26 percent this quarter, he said.
ASE's guidance for the first quarter was slightly below foreign investor expectations of a 10 percent drop in revenue, an analyst with the Taipei-based Prudential Financial Securities Investment Trust Enterprise (
"ASE's performance in its core business last quarter was better than expected. However, its non-core business was slightly below expectation owing to its depreciation expense," the analyst said.
ASE's stock rose 3.5 percent to NT$28.05 on the Taiwan Stock Exchange yesterday, outperforming the TAIEX's 0.3 percent drop.
ASE expects to spend US$400 million to US$450 million in capital expenditure this year -- similar to last year, Tung said.
Tung declined to give a full-year growth forecast, but said the company was confident of seeing the same quarter-on-quarter growth pattern as last year.
PROTECTIONISM: China hopes to help domestic chipmakers gain more market share while preparing local tech companies for the possibility of more US sanctions Beijing is stepping up pressure on Chinese companies to buy locally produced artificial intelligence (AI) chips instead of Nvidia Corp products, part of the nation’s effort to expand its semiconductor industry and counter US sanctions. Chinese regulators have been discouraging companies from purchasing Nvidia’s H20 chips, which are used to develop and run AI models, sources familiar with the matter said. The policy has taken the form of guidance rather than an outright ban, as Beijing wants to avoid handicapping its own AI start-ups and escalating tensions with the US, said the sources, who asked not to be identified because the
Taipei is today suspending its US$2.5 trillion stock market as Super Typhoon Krathon approaches Taiwan with strong winds and heavy rain. The nation is not conducting securities, currency or fixed-income trading, statements from its stock and currency exchanges said. Yesterday, schools and offices were closed in several cities and counties in southern and eastern Taiwan, including in the key industrial port city of Kaohsiung. Taiwan, which started canceling flights, ship sailings and some train services earlier this week, has wind and rain advisories in place for much of the island. It regularly experiences typhoons, and in July shut offices and schools as
Her white-gloved, waistcoated uniform impeccable, 22-year-old Hazuki Okuno boards a bullet train replica to rehearse the strict protocols behind the smooth operation of a Japanese institution turning 60 Tuesday. High-speed Shinkansen trains began running between Tokyo and Osaka on Oct. 1, 1964, heralding a new era for rail travel as Japan grew into an economic superpower after World War II. The service remains integral to the nation’s economy and way of life — so keeping it dazzlingly clean, punctual and accident-free is a serious job. At a 10-story, state-of-the-art staff training center, Okuno shouted from the window and signaled to imaginary colleagues, keeping
FALLING BEHIND: Samsung shares have declined more than 20 percent this year, as the world’s largest chipmaker struggles in key markets and plays catch-up to rival SK Hynix Samsung Electronics Co is laying off workers in Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand as part of a plan to reduce its global headcount by thousands of jobs, sources familiar with the situation said. The layoffs could affect about 10 percent of its workforces in those markets, although the numbers for each subsidiary might vary, said one of the sources, who asked not to be named because the matter is private. Job cuts are planned for other overseas subsidiaries and could reach 10 percent in certain markets, the source said. The South Korean company has about 147,000 in staff overseas, more than half
RSS