ASE Technology Holding Co (日月光控股) yesterday reported that its net profit more than doubled to a record NT$14.18 billion (US$509.45 million) last quarter, as it operated near full capacity due to robust demand from the computer and communications segments.
That compared with a net profit of NT$6.71 billion a year earlier and NT$10.34 billion in the previous quarter. Earnings per share rose to NT$3.29 last quarter, compared with NT$1.57 the previous year and NT$2.4 the prior quarter.
Gross margin improved to 20.4 percent last quarter. It was 16 percent a year ago and 19.5 percent in the second quarter.
Photo: Grace Hung, Taipei Times
ASE said it expects this quarter to be “flattish,” with revenue approaching last quarter’s NT$88.79 billion, due to a shortage of wafers and substrates.
Revenue from its electronics manufacturing services (EMS), primarily its system-in-a-package (SiP) service, should increase to about NT$79.14 million from last quarter’s NT$61.12 billion, the company said.
However, the company said it would likely miss its operating profit margin target of 4 percent for the EMS business this year, due to component shortages and supply chain disruptions.
“What we are seeing is some softness in demand in certain areas, but, in general, the whole industry is still going through rapid growth,” ASE chief financial officer Joseph Tung (董宏思) told investors during a teleconference.
“Customers are seeking to secure more supply,” he said.
Factory utilization is to stay at a high level of 85 percent for its chip packaging services and 80 percent for its chip testing services, similar to last quarter’s levels, he said.
Despite noises about double booking and potential softness in end product demand, ASE said it believes there is still substantial pent-up demand.
The Kaohsiung-based company said it expects its business to continue growing next year, with a better-than-seasonal outlook for the first quarter of next year.
The company said it continues “to have strong order flows from a vast majority of our customers, with orders well extending into 2022 and some in 2023, well beyond normal booking time.”
ASE said it also expects to see a “friendly pricing environment” next year, indicating an upside for prices.
PATENTS: MediaTek Inc said it would not comment on ongoing legal cases, but does not expect the legal action by Huawei to affect its business operations Smartphone integrated chips designer MediaTek Inc (聯發科) on Friday said that a lawsuit filed by Chinese smartphone brand Huawei Technologies Co (華為) over alleged patent infringements would have little impact on its operations. In an announcement posted on the Taiwan Stock Exchange, MediaTek said that it would not comment on an ongoing legal case. However, the company said that Huawei’s legal action would have little impact on its operations. MediaTek’s statement came after China-based PRIP Research said on Thursday that Huawei filed a lawsuit with a Chinese district court claiming that MediaTek infringed on its patents. The infringement mentioned in the lawsuit likely involved
Taipei is today suspending work, classes and its US$2.4 trillion stock market as Typhoon Gaemi approaches Taiwan with strong winds and heavy rain. The nation is not conducting securities, currency or fixed income trading, statements from its stock and currency exchanges said. Authorities had yesterday issued a warning that the storm could affect people on land and canceled some ship crossings and domestic flights. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) expects its local chipmaking fabs to maintain normal production, the company said in an e-mailed statement. The main chipmaker for Apple Inc and Nvidia Corp said it has activated routine typhoon alert
GROWTH: TSMC increased its projected revenue growth for this year to more than 25 percent, citing stronger-than-expected demand for AI devices and smartphones The Taiwan Institute of Economic Research (TIER, 台灣經濟研究院) yesterday raised its forecast for Taiwan’s GDP growth this year from 3.29 percent to 3.85 percent, as exports and private investment recovered faster than it predicted three months ago. The Taipei-based think tank also expects that Taiwan would see a 8.19 percent increase in exports this year, better than the 7.55 percent it projected in April, as US technology giants spent more money on artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure and development. “There will be more AI servers going forward, but it remains to be seen if the momentum would extend to personal computers, smartphones and
Catastrophic computer outages caused by a software update from one company have once again exposed the dangers of global technological dependence on a handful of players, experts said on Friday. A flawed update sent out by the little-known security firm CrowdStrike Holdings Inc brought airlines, TV stations and myriad other aspects of daily life to a standstill. The outages affected companies or individuals that use CrowdStrike on the Microsoft Inc’s Windows platform. When they applied the update, the incompatible software crashed computers into a frozen state known as the “blue screen of death.” “Today CrowdStrike has become a household name, but not in