Macronix International Co (旺宏電子), the world’s biggest NOR flash memorychip maker, yesterday reported a 40.5 percent annual decline in revenue.
The drop is the latest in a slew of slumping revenue reports from local semiconductor companies as weak macroeconomic conditions, surging inflation and an energy crisis continue to depress demand for electronics.
Macronix’s revenue last month fell to NT$2.21 billion (US$73.56 million), down from NT$3.72 billion in January last year, it said in a statement.
Photo: Ritchie B. Tongo, EPA-EFE
Revenue contracted 14.3 percent from the previous month’s NT$2.58 billion.
Macronix in November last year said that it had vague visibility for this year due to a downcycle in the memorychip market, driven primarily by surging inflation, escalating geopolitical tensions and an energy crisis resulting from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
It said the situation was different from industrial slumps, which are driven by overcapacity.
The company had previously said that it would cut capacity utilization by about 20 to 25 percent in the fourth quarter of last year in responses to sagging demand.
Macronix is on Tuesday next week to release last quarter’s financial results.
Powertech Technology Inc (力成科技), a memorychip packaging and testing provider, yesterday said that revenue plummeted 30.97 percent year-on-year to about NT$5 billion last month, from NT$7.24 billion in January last year.
On a monthly basis, revenue shrank 13.49 percent from NT$5.787 billion.
Powertech last week said that this quarter would be the worst period this year, due to a seasonal slowdown and fewer working days over the Lunar New Year holiday.
Outbreaks of COVID-19 in China and ongoing supply chain inventory corrections also curtailed demand, the company told investors.
Revenue this quarter would drop by a double-digit percentage from NT$18.4 billion in the fourth quarter last year, amid weak demand for DRAM chips used in PCs, servers and mobile phones, the company said.
It expects business to pick up next quarter and further improve in the second half of this year.
Powertech reported the weakest quarterly net income in about 14 quarters last quarter at NT$1.35 billion. That represented an annual decline of 46 percent, or a quarterly reduction of 43.7 percent.
Earnings per share fell to NT$1.81 last quarter from NT$3.25 in the fourth quarter of 2021.
To cope with sluggish customer demand, Powertech plans to spend about 40 percent less on capital expenditure this year, compared with last year’s NT$16.7 billion, the company said.
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