Powerchip Semiconductor Corp (力晶半導體), the nation’s No. 2 computer memory chipmaker, yesterday said it posted a profit for the second consecutive quarter, with sales last month rising to their highest in three years on the back of stronger chip prices.
Last month, Powerchip made NT$6.85 billion (US$215.5 million) in sales, up 24 percent from NT$5.52 billion in February, marking the highest level since it made NT$8.02 billion in March 2007.
Rising chip prices driven by strong demand for commodity DRAM on the spot market, increased capacity and better yields helped push the company’s revenue and profit last month, company spokesman Eric Tang (譚仲民) said.
The last quarter “marked a second profitable quarter in a row for Powerchip,” Tang said by telephone.
He declined to disclose specific figures.
“We are optimistic about chip prices [in the short term] as demand looks sustainable,” Tang said.
First-quarter revenue reached NT$18.29 billion, more than quadrupling from NT$3.92 billion in the same period last year.
To cope with recovering demand and boost profits, the chipmaker is in talks with equipment makers to buy new machines for its migration to 45-nanometer process technology, he said.
Tang said the company had not set a timetable for the technology upgrade because of a short supply of semiconductor equipment.
The technological migration is critical to raising profitability as it could lower costs for making new-generation DDR3 chips by about 30 percent, he said.
Nanya Technology Corp (南亞科技), the nation’s biggest DRAM maker, is set to release last month’s sales figure next week.
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