Passive component maker Walsin Technology Corp (華新科技) yesterday posted the weakest fourth-quarter revenue report in about two years after revenue last month dropped 4.8 percent month-on-month due to fewer working days.
However, customer demand last month was strong thanks to companies preparing for the Lunar New Year holiday and restocking inventory, the company’s Web site said.
The firm’s revenue last month fell 29 percent year-on-year to NT$2.15 billion (US$71.47 million) from NT$2.26 billion in November.
Fourth-quarter revenue fell 9.83 percent quarter-on-quarter to NT$6.51 billion from NT$7.22 billion in the third quarter and declined about 80 percent year-on-year from NT$11.68 billion in 2018.
For the whole of last year, revenue reached NT$29.94 billion, slumping 37.4 percent from NT$47.83 billion in 2018, a company filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange showed.
In November, the company told investors that demand would likely recover when supply-chain inventory fell to a healthy level at the end of the year.
Demand from companies rebuilding inventory and 5G base stations needing new dielectric filters were expected to fuel growth momentum this year, the company said at the time.
Supply-chain feedback indicates that Walsin has tried to increase its factory utilization rate to satisfy a spike in customer demand for multilayer ceramic capacitors and chip resisters.
However, a labor shortage has prevented the company from fully utilizing its manufacturing capacity, a Walsin supplier said.
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