Powertech Technology Inc (力成科技), the nation’s biggest computer memory chip packager, yesterday said its consolidated net income reached NT$1.82 billion (US$62.6 million) in the fourth quarter of last year, up 8 percent from the same period of 2009, but down 12.4 percent from the previous quarter.
Earnings per share were NT$2.5 in the fourth quarter and reached NT$10.53 for the whole of last year, the Hsinchu-based company said in a stock exchange filing.
Consolidated sales in the October-to-December period totaled NT$10.06 billion, up 15.1 percent year-on-year and 2.2 percent quarter-on-quarter.
Powertech’s quarterly profit was lower than Citigroup’s forecast of NT$1.95 billion and the average NT$1.99 billion forecast in the Bloomberg survey of analysts.
The company’s gross profit margin of 25.1 percent in the fourth quarter also fell below Citigroup and other analysts’ estimates, mainly owing to unexpected foreign exchange losses incurred in the quarter, Citigroup analyst Roland Shu (徐振志) said in a note yesterday.
While reiterating its positive view on the company, Citigroup said that by assuming the New Taiwan dollar would appreciate to NT$29 against the US dollar this year, it reduced its earning forecast for Powertech by 8 percent to NT$11.3 per share this year and cut its target price to NT$127 from NT$130 made previously, according to the note.
Shares of Powertech fell 1.41 percent to NT$105 yesterday on the Taiwan Stock Exchange, ahead of the release of the company’s latest quarterly results.
Going forward, Powertech ensured the first quarter would be the "trough quarter" this year, said Shu, who attended the company’s quarterly investors conference held yesterday at a Taipei hotel.
The company said it expected revenue to decline by 3 percent this quarter from the previous quarter on falling average selling prices, foreign exchange losses and production cut by key customers, while gross margin would also be negatively impacted by the NT dollar appreciation, Shu said.
Powertech also said its capital spending would be around NT$10 billion this year, compared to NT$12 billion for last year.
“We expect Powertech’s shares to catch up on stabilized DRAM prices and strong Nand Flash and mobile DRAM momentum from rapidly growing smartphone and tablet applications,” Shu said in the note.
The Eurovision Song Contest has seen a surge in punter interest at the bookmakers, becoming a major betting event, experts said ahead of last night’s giant glamfest in Basel. “Eurovision has quietly become one of the biggest betting events of the year,” said Tomi Huttunen, senior manager of the Online Computer Finland (OCS) betting and casino platform. Betting sites have long been used to gauge which way voters might be leaning ahead of the world’s biggest televised live music event. However, bookmakers highlight a huge increase in engagement in recent years — and this year in particular. “We’ve already passed 2023’s total activity and
Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) today announced that his company has selected "Beitou Shilin" in Taipei for its new Taiwan office, called Nvidia Constellation, putting an end to months of speculation. Industry sources have said that the tech giant has been eyeing the Beitou Shilin Science Park as the site of its new overseas headquarters, and speculated that the new headquarters would be built on two plots of land designated as "T17" and "T18," which span 3.89 hectares in the park. "I think it's time for us to reveal one of the largest products we've ever built," Huang said near the
China yesterday announced anti-dumping duties as high as 74.9 percent on imports of polyoxymethylene (POM) copolymers, a type of engineering plastic, from Taiwan, the US, the EU and Japan. The Chinese Ministry of Commerce’s findings conclude a probe launched in May last year, shortly after the US sharply increased tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, computer chips and other imports. POM copolymers can partially replace metals such as copper and zinc, and have various applications, including in auto parts, electronics and medical equipment, the Chinese ministry has said. In January, it said initial investigations had determined that dumping was taking place, and implemented preliminary
Intel Corp yesterday reinforced its determination to strengthen its partnerships with Taiwan’s ecosystem partners including original-electronic-manufacturing (OEM) companies such as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) and chipmaker United Microelectronics Corp (UMC, 聯電). “Tonight marks a new beginning. We renew our new partnership with Taiwan ecosystem,” Intel new chief executive officer Tan Lip-bu (陳立武) said at a dinner with representatives from the company’s local partners, celebrating the 40th anniversary of the US chip giant’s presence in Taiwan. Tan took the reins at Intel six weeks ago aiming to reform the chipmaker and revive its past glory. This is the first time Tan
RSS