Adata Technology Co (威剛科技), the world’s second-largest memory module supplier, yesterday said net profit almost tripled last quarter from a year earlier, as stay-at-home and work-from-home trends boosted demand for related electronics and memory chips.
Net profit surged to NT$464 million (US$15.43 million) from NT$157.78 million a year earlier, marking the best quarterly net profit in more than two years.
Earnings per share jumped to NT$2.06, from NT$0.72 a year ago.
Last quarter’s results reversed net losses of NT$250 million, or losses per share of NT$1.15, in the previous quarter.
Gross margin climbed to a historical high of 23.76 percent last quarter, from 10.8 percent in the prior year and 8.53 percent in the previous quarter, as Adata had bought memory chips at lower prices.
“Although COVID-19 affected the global economy in the first quarter, stay-at-home, work-from-home, remote learning trends and gaming PCs helped boost DRAM and NAND Flash chip demand and prices,” Adata said in a statement.
“The pandemic fueled demand for servers, notebook computers, tablets and desktop computers,” it added.
To cope with the rising demand, original equipment manufacturers are actively building inventories, but lockdowns and transportation restrictions in the US, Europe and Southeast Asia have disrupted supply chains and slowed economic activities, it said.
The company said the second quarter would be a bumpy period for the global economy, which is likely to gradually recover in the second half of this year after the outbreak stabilizes.
As a result, Adata expects gaming PCs, 5G applications and industrial devices to fuel memorychip demand in the second half, it said.
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Motorists ride past a mural along a street in Varanasi, India, yesterday.
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