Wafer probing service provider Chunghwa Precision Test Technology Co (CHPT, 中華精測) expects revenue to grow quarterly for the remainder of the year, as it is well-positioned to benefit from the robust demand for processors used in 5G smartphones and high-performance computing devices such as data centers.
The growth momentum was disrupted last quarter as CHPT’s engineers were prohibited from visiting customers’ factories for product qualification after the government raised the COVID-19 alert in May to level 3 to curb infections, the company said yesterday.
As the government eased some restrictions this week, the company expects to regain momentum from next month, as 5G-related infrastructure deployment, electric vehicles and remote work continue to stimulate demand.
Photo: CNA
“The COVID-19 outbreak has upended the normal seasonal patterns this year,” CHPT president Scott Huang (黃水可) told an online investors’ conference in Taipei. “The second and third quarters used to be the best quarters for the company. This year, each quarter would be higher than the previous one, probably making the fourth quarter the best quarter of the year.”
For the full year, revenue is expected to surpass last year’s NT$4.23 billion (US$151 million), thanks to growing demand for its wafer probe card business, Huang said.
The outlook for next year is positive, he added.
The company’s top client is expected to contribute more than 30 percent to its total revenue this year, filling the void left by two of its major customers last year, he said.
The wafer probe card business accounted for 35 percent of the company’s overall revenue last quarter, down from 41 percent the previous quarter due to COVID-19 restrictions, the Pingjhen District (平鎮), Taoyuan-based company said.
Net profit contracted 7.3 percent to NT$216 million last quarter from NT$233 million a year earlier, but rose 28.57 percent from NT$168 million in the previous quarter, it said.
Earnings per share dropped to NT$6.16, compared with NT$7.11 a year earlier and NT$5.11 in the first quarter.
Net profit in the first half of the year was NT$384 million, it said.
Gross margin fell to 53.8 percent last quarter from 54.1 percent in the first quarter and 54.1 percent in the second quarter last year.
The Taiwan Automation Intelligence and Robot Show, which is to be held from Wednesday to Saturday at the Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center, would showcase the latest in artificial intelligence (AI)-driven robotics and automation technologies, the organizer said yesterday. The event would highlight applications in smart manufacturing, as well as information and communications technology, the Taiwan Automation Intelligence and Robotics Association said. More than 1,000 companies are to display innovations in semiconductors, electromechanics, industrial automation and intelligent manufacturing, it said in a news release. Visitors can explore automated guided vehicles, 3D machine vision systems and AI-powered applications at the show, along
AI SERVER DEMAND: ‘Overall industry demand continues to outpace supply and we are expanding capacity to meet it,’ the company’s chief executive officer said Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) yesterday reported that net profit last quarter rose 27 percent from the same quarter last year on the back of demand for cloud services and high-performance computing products. Net profit surged to NT$44.36 billion (US$1.48 billion) from NT$35.04 billion a year earlier. On a quarterly basis, net profit grew 5 percent from NT$42.1 billion. Earnings per share expanded to NT$3.19 from NT$2.53 a year earlier and NT$3.03 in the first quarter. However, a sharp appreciation of the New Taiwan dollar since early May has weighed on the company’s performance, Hon Hai chief financial officer David Huang (黃德才)
FORECAST: The greater computing power needed for emerging AI applications has driven higher demand for advanced semiconductors worldwide, TSMC said The government-supported Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) has raised its forecast for this year’s growth in the output value of Taiwan’s semiconductor industry to above 22 percent on strong global demand for artificial intelligence (AI) applications. In its latest IEK Current Quarterly Model report, the institute said the local semiconductor industry would have output of NT$6.5 trillion (US$216.6 billion) this year, up 22.2 percent from a year earlier, an upward revision from a 19.1 percent increase estimate made in May. The strong showing of the local semiconductor industry largely reflected the stronger-than-expected performance of the integrated circuit (IC) manufacturing segment,
COLLABORATION: Softbank would supply manufacturing gear to the factory, and a joint venture would make AI data center equipment, Young Liu said Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) would operate a US factory owned by Softbank Group Corp, setting up what is in the running to be the first manufacturing site in the Japanese company’s US$500 billion Stargate venture with OpenAI and Oracle Corp. Softbank is acquiring Hon Hai’s electric-vehicle plant in Ohio, but the Taiwanese company would continue to run the complex after turning it into an artificial intelligence (AI) server production plant, Hon Hai chairman Young Liu (劉揚偉) said yesterday. Softbank would supply manufacturing gear to the factory, and a joint venture between the two companies would make AI data
RSS