Sino-American Silicon Products Inc (SAS, 中美晶) expects to book NT$2.27 billion (US$73.7 million) in impairment losses for the final quarter of last year, after the company retired some idled solar wafer manufacturing equipment.
The move is part of a strategy to shift away from the polysilicon wafer market to the higher-margin monocrystalline solar cell and solar module markets, as well as solar panel installations.
The impairment would “have a positive effect on company finances in the long run due to its withdrawal from the slumping polysilicon market,” SAS spokesperson Lee Chung-wei (李崇偉) said on Friday last week, adding that the charge would not affect the company’s working capital and cash flow.
The board of directors approved the plan on Friday, even though the charges might weigh on the company’s bottom line in the fourth quarter, SAS said.
SAS reported NT$826.73 million, or NT$1.42 per share, in net profit for the third quarter.
To improve SAS’ solar business, the board of directors approved revising a long-term supply agreement for silicon raw materials with South Korea’s OCI Co Ltd.
The revision benefits the company, SAS said in a statement, although it did not reveal details of the adjustment, citing a non-disclosure agreement.
Revenue increased 4.5 percent monthly to NT$6.08 billion, hitting a historical high, SAS said.
That brought the company’s revenue last quarter to an all-time high of NT$17.77 billion, with quarterly growth of 2.8 percent.
Revenue grew 16.8 percent last year to NT$69.24 billion, from NT$59.26 billion in 2017, the company said, adding that revenue from its semiconductor subsidiary GlobalWafers Co (環球晶圓) rose 27.8 percent to NT$59.06 billion, but revenue from solar products dropped 22.5 percent to NT$10.18 billion.
GlobalWafers, the world’s No. 3 silicon wafer supplier, contributed 85.3 percent to SAS’ overall revenue last year.
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