REBOUND:After a ‘painful’ first quarter, the chip tester and packager expects a recovery, with customer orders for the second and third quarters looking sturdy

Taipei Times
Date: Apr 25, 2018
By: Lisa Wang  /  Staff reporter

Memorychip tester and packager Powertech Technology Inc (力成科技) yesterday said that its first-quarter net profit declined 22 percent sequentially mainly due to foreign-exchange losses and seasonal weakness, but that it expects revenue to pick up this quarter as demand recovers.

Net profit fell to NT$1.29 billion (US$43.56 million) last quarter, compared with NT$1.66 billion in the final quarter last year. That translated into earnings per share of NT$1.66, down from NT$2.12.

Powertech said it booked NT$200 million in foreign-exchange losses last quarter as the New Taiwan dollar appreciated 2.35 percent versus the US dollar during the period.

Gross margin slid to 20.4 percent from 21.5 percent as its two Japanese acquisitions and a new fab in Xian, China, dragged down overall margins, the company said.
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