Hermes Testing Solutions Inc (漢民測試) yesterday said revenue this quarter is likely to beat seasonal weakness, benefiting from rising demand for its advanced wafer probing and inspection tools used in the production of artificial intelligence and high-performance computing (HPC) chips.
The first quarter of the year is usually an off-season for the electronics sector, Hermes said.
However, the company has seen significant increases in demand for its customized wafer probing and inspection tools, as traditional probing and testing technologies cannot fully meet requirements, it said.
Photo: CNA
The company’s customized solutions, mostly high-end semiconductor inspection equipment, have become a key growth driver over the past few years, it added.
Hermes, 30 percent held by semiconductor inspection and equipment supplier Hermes-Epitek Corp (漢民科技), counts the world’s major chipmakers and chip designers as its key customers.
The company posted NT$214.31 million (US$6.79 million) in revenue last month, surging 35 percent from NT$158.74 million a year earlier, but down 26.52 percent from NT$292 million the previous month, Hermes said.
Engineering services — such as equipment modification and relocation services — are the biggest revenue contributor to the company, accounting for 44 percent of last month’s sales, it said.
Customized products and the equipment distribution business contributed 32 percent of sales, and probe cards and consumables provided another 24 percent, Hermes added.
To meet the demand for higher frequency and high-power wafers, Hermes offers a variety of probe cards with different types of needles, which could be used in various HPC devices, 5G products, artificial intelligence of things and electric vehicles.
The company said it plans to increase the output of thin-film micro-electro-mechanical systems probe cards, targeting high-end testing services for application-specific integrated circuits and system-on-a-chips, through a strategic partnership with Micronics Japan Co.
Hermes last year sold eight to 10 advanced packaging chip-on-wafer-on-substrate inspection tools and said sales this year would surpass that number.
The company plans to earmark NT$373 million for capital spending this year to support demand, it said last month.
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