Semiconductor equipment contract maker Foxsemicon Integrated Technology Inc (京鼎) yesterday said it is on track to report record revenue this quarter, supported by strong demand for semiconductor equipment and automation systems.
Foxsemicon, 5.97 percent owned by Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), makes automation systems for wafer manufacturing, LCD manufacturing and LCD inspection tools. The company’s major clients include Hon Hai and its LCD manufacturing arm, Innolux Corp (群創).
“[Demand] for semiconductor [equipment] will dip a bit in the fourth quarter as the global semiconductor industry’s slowdown expands,” Foxsemicon chief financial officer Stanley Lu (呂軍甫) said at an investors’ conference.
“We still hope to sustain our growth momentum by boosting automation [orders],” Lu said.
Semiconductor equipment accounted for 64 percent of Foxsemicon’s NT$3.08 billion (US$93.94 million) in total revenue in the first eight months of this year, while automation systems made up 26 percent.
Foxsemicon is expected to benefit from Innolux’s new 6G factory in Kaohsiung’s Luzhu District (路竹), as the panel maker plans to start operations at the new plant in the first quarter of next year.
To minimize the impact of the semiconductor industry’s highs and lows, Foxsemicon said it is diversifying into the healthcare equipment sector and plans to offer semiconductor component maintenance services, adding that it expects their sales contributions to become significant in the next one to two years.
Foxsemicon optoelectronic equipment department director Kai Huang (黃俊凱) said the two new businesses are to be the company’s first steps to tap into “Industry 4.0,” which includes smart factory and smart environment surveillance.
The company is working with a local hospital to provide its healthcare equipment, Huang said.
Foxsemicon this year relocated some of its production lines back to Miaoli County from Shanghai, partly due to customers’ concerns about intellectual property protection in China.
Foxsemicon shares have declined by 7.64 percent to NT$59.2 yesterday since its initial public offering price of NT$64.1 on July 28, while the TAIEX has dropped 3.76 percent over the period.
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