Holtek Semiconductor Inc (盛群半導體), a designer of microcontroller units (MCUs), yesterday said that revenue this quarter would edge downward from last quarter’s peak, as electricity curbs in China and somewhat higher inventories at its distributors hit demand.
China’s long holidays and gridlock at global ports are also contributing to demand uncertainty, Armstrong Tsai (蔡榮宗), vice president of Holtek’s sales and marketing center, told an investors’ conference in Taipei.
These external factors and increases in inventory could override robust demand for microcontroller units used in healthcare devices ranging from forehead thermometers and ear thermometers to blood glucose meters, Tsai said.
Photo: Vanessa Cho, Taipei Times
Last quarter, healthcare devices contributed about 11 percent of the company’s total revenue, while MCUs accounted for 81 percent.
“The firm’s operations peaked in the third quarter of this year, and revenue is likely to slide in the fourth quarter,” Tsai said.
However, fourth-quarter revenue could still surpass last year’s NT$1.66 billion (US$59.55 million), he said.
Holtek’s revenue last quarter soared 41 percent annually and 27 percent quarterly to NT$2.12 billion, hitting an all-time high, which Tsai attributed to price hikes.
While the firm’s foundry partners have adjusted their prices upward, Holtek has no plans this quarter to raise prices further, amid faltering MCU demand and competition from Chinese rivals, Tsai said.
United Microelectronics Corp (聯電) is a major wafer supplier to Holtek.
Holtek is optimistic about customer demand next year, saying that orders received for delivery next year represent 80 percent of capacity, while customers have paid 30 percent of their orders in advance.
In the third quarter, the firm’s net profit surged to a record high of NT$716.13 million, up 149 percent from NT$284.54 million a year earlier and up 40 percent from NT$513.11 million in the second quarter.
Earnings per share rose to NT$3.17, up from NT$1.27 a year earlier and NT$2.26 in the second quarter.
In the third quarter, the company’s gross margin reached 52.2 percent, up from 46.5 percent a year earlier and 51.2 percent in the second quarter, due to price increases.
In the first nine months of this year, net profit surged to NT$1.58 billion from NT$671.74 million in the same period last year and exceeded the NT$1.03 billion it registered for the whole of last year.
In the first nine months, earnings per share rose to NT$6.97, up from NT$2.95 in the same period last year and up from NT$4.56 for the whole of last year.
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