Powertech Technology Inc (PTI, 力成科技) expects revenue to grow gradually over the next three quarters on rising demand for advanced handset chips, after seasonal weakness pared net profits 12.7 percent sequentially last quarter, company executives said yesterday.
The Hsinchu-based chip tester and packager also said the government’s suspension of a NT$19.4 billion (US$599.45 million) investment plan by Chinese semiconductor firm Tsinghua Unigroup Ltd (清華紫光) would not affect this year’s business outlook.
“We have arranged cash and technologies to support the company’s business plan this year. The Tsinghua Unigroup case, which is still under government review, will not affect our business, revenue, cash position and capital spending,” chairman Tsai Du-kung (蔡篤恭) told an investors’ conference yesterday.
PTI plans to boost capital spending by about 38 percent to NT$12 billion this year from last year’s NT$8.7 billion to finance capacity expansion and the development of advanced technology, such as fan-out packaging technology.
Fan-out packaging technology has drawn attention after Apple Inc said it plans to use the new technology for the next-generation chips used in its new iPhone models.
However, Tsai said PTI’s fan-out technology is not for Apple.
The spending also includes a budget for PTI’s Chinese memorychip packaging plant in Xian, the capital of Shaanxi Province, designated exclusively for Micron Technology Inc.
PTI said net profits fell to NT$1.22 billion last quarter, compared with NT$1.47 billion in the previous quarter. That represented annual growth of 18.3 percent from NT$1.03 billion.
The quarterly net profit surpassed the forecast of Yuanta Securities Investment Consulting Co (元大投顧) analyst Andrew Chen, who expected PTI to make NT$995 million.
“The first quarter is usually the toughest period,” PTI general manager Hung Chia-yu told the conference. “We are optimistic about the second quarter’s outlook. Revenue will grow on a quarterly basis and on an annual basis.”
The growth momentum is to extend into the second half of this year, helping revenue to rise quarter by quarter, Hung said.
“Demand from the smartphone segment has been rebounding,” Hung said.
That would drive up demand for mobile DRAM and flash memory chips, he said.
Flash memorychips are the biggest revenue source for PTI, contributing 39 percent, followed by DRAM with 32 percent, according to the company’s financial statement.
Revenue last quarter dropped 12.2 percent sequentially to NT$10.62 billion due to the strong New Taiwan dollar and fewer working days, from a record high of NT$12.09 billion in the fourth quarter of last year.
Utilization of its chip packaging equipment is expected to climb to more than 80 percent in the current quarter and to 90 percent next quarter, compared with 75 percent last quarter, PTI said.
Packaging service revenue made up more than 70 percent of the company’s total revenue last quarter.
PTI shares jumped 1.45 percent to NT$70.2 in Taipei trading yesterday.
soft landing: The US’ rate-setting FOMC finds itself in a difficult situation as it seeks to address inflation through interest rate hikes while avoiding a recession The US Federal Reserve is widely expected to hold interest rates steady on Wednesday after a summer of mixed economic data, while leaving the door open to another hike if needed. The Fed has raised interest rates 11 times over the past 18 months, lifting its key lending rate to a level not seen for 22 years as it tackles inflation still stubbornly above its long-term target of 2 percent. Analysts and traders broadly expect the US central bank to hold rates steady on Wednesday in order to give policymakers more time to assess the health of the world’s largest economy. “We think
AI TREND: TSMC has been rapidly expanding capacity to meet a spike in demand for advanced packaging services, but still expects supplies to be tight for 18 months Arizona is in talks with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) about advanced chip packaging, state Governor Katie Hobbs said yesterday, which is crucial for the manufacturing of artificial intelligence (AI) chips. TSMC, which is building a US$40 billion chip factory in the US state, has not announced plans to build facilities for advanced chip packaging in the US. Advanced packaging processes stitch multiple chips together into a single device, lowering the added cost of more powerful computing. “Part of our efforts at building the semiconductor ecosystem is focusing on advanced packaging, so we have several things in the works around that
At a sprawling South Korean arms factory on Friday, a high-tech production line of robots and super-skilled workers were rapidly churning out weapons that could, eventually, play a role in Ukraine. Since the Russian invasion last year, the Hanwha Aerospace factory in the southern city of Changwon has expanded production capacity three times, workers told reporters, as South Korea ramps up arms exports while traditional behemoths like the US struggle with production shortages. Longstanding domestic policy bars Seoul from selling weapons into active conflicts, but even so it signed deals worth US$17.3 billion last year, including a US$12.7 billion agreement with NATO
Tailwinds: Blockbuster earnings at Nvidia Corp have sparked hopes of a tech sector boom; Taiwanese chipmakers are hopeful benefits will come to them too The worst could be over for the New Taiwan dollar as China’s economic recovery and a rebound in the chip industry will support the beleaguered currency, analysts said. The NT dollar is on course to weaken for a sixth month, the longest stretch since 2006, after foreign funds turned sour on its technology sector and risk sentiment deteriorated on slower growth in China. The tide seems to be turning now on nascent signs of stabilization in China’s economy — its biggest trading partner — following policy boosts. The yuan emerged as the best-performing Asian currency last week, followed by the Japanese yen
RSS