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.
Semiconductor shares in China surged yesterday after Reuters reported the US had ordered chipmaking giant Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) to halt shipments of advanced chips to Chinese customers, which investors believe could accelerate Beijing’s self-reliance efforts. TSMC yesterday started to suspend shipments of certain sophisticated chips to some Chinese clients after receiving a letter from the US Department of Commerce imposing export restrictions on those products, Reuters reported on Sunday, citing an unnamed source. The US imposed export restrictions on TSMC’s 7-nanometer or more advanced designs, Reuters reported. Investors figured that would encourage authorities to support China’s industry and bought shares
FLEXIBLE: Taiwan can develop its own ground station equipment, and has highly competitive manufacturers and suppliers with diversified production, the MOEA said The Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) yesterday disputed reports that suppliers to US-based Space Exploration Technologies Corp (SpaceX) had been asked to move production out of Taiwan. Reuters had reported on Tuesday last week that Elon Musk-owned SpaceX had asked their manufacturers to produce outside of Taiwan given geopolitical risks and that at least one Taiwanese supplier had been pushed to relocate production to Vietnam. SpaceX’s requests place a renewed focus on the contentious relationship Musk has had with Taiwan, especially after he said last year that Taiwan is an “integral part” of China, sparking sharp criticism from Taiwanese authorities. The ministry said
US President Joe Biden’s administration is racing to complete CHIPS and Science Act agreements with companies such as Intel Corp and Samsung Electronics Co, aiming to shore up one of its signature initiatives before US president-elect Donald Trump enters the White House. The US Department of Commerce has allocated more than 90 percent of the US$39 billion in grants under the act, a landmark law enacted in 2022 designed to rebuild the domestic chip industry. However, the agency has only announced one binding agreement so far. The next two months would prove critical for more than 20 companies still in the process
CHANGING JAPAN: Nvidia-powered AI services over cellular networks ‘will result in an artificial intelligence grid that runs across Japan,’ Nvidia’s Jensen Huang said Softbank Group Corp would be the first to build a supercomputer with chips using Nvidia Corp’s new Blackwell design, a demonstration of the Japanese company’s ambitions to catch up on artificial intelligence (AI). The group’s telecom unit, Softbank Corp, plans to build Japan’s most powerful AI supercomputer to support local services, it said. That computer would be based on Nvidia’s DGX B200 product, which combines computer processors with so-called AI accelerator chips. A follow-up effort will feature Grace Blackwell, a more advanced version, the company said. The announcement indicates that Softbank Group, which until early 2019 owned 4.9 percent of Nvidia, has secured a
RSS