Major DRAM firms had higher revenue in March
Taipei, April 2, 2000 (CENS)--With the price of DRAM products stopping their downward trend in March, most local manufacturers in Taiwan registered higher revenue, compared with February, industry sources said Sunday.
For example, Winbond Electronics Corp. rang up NT$3 billion worth of revenue in March, up somewhat from February. Other major manufacturers such as Mosel Vitelic Inc. registered NT$2 billion in revenue last month, followed by ProMos Technologies Inc., with NT$1.6 billion; Vanguard International Semiconductor Corp, with NT$1.3 billion; and Powerchip Semiconductor Corp., with NT$900 million, according to industry sources.
With the exception of Vanguard, most other local DRAM firms suffered somewhat in their February revenue. Executives at ProMos attributed the revenue decline to the sharp price cut of DRAM products in February and the fewer working days due to the Chinese New Year holidays.
In February, the price of 64M DRAM products dropped to US$4.7 per unit in the spot market, down from US$7.3 per unit. This also affected the overall contract price, industry sources said.
Under the situation, Winbond rang up only NT$2.88 billion worth of revenue in February, the lowest figure over the past five months. Mosel Vitelic registered NT$1.9 billion worth of revenue in February, compared with ProMos, with 1.25 billion and Powerchip, with NT$820 million.
However, the price of locally made DRAM products recovered by the end of March, with the price of 64M DRAM exceeding US$6 per unit. The price even climbed to US$7 per unit in the last week of March, industry sources said.
Most local DRAM firms are optimistic that their revenue will grow considerably in the second quarter. Sales will increase dramatically from the second half and demand is expected to maintain hectic for two years.
Executives at Winbond shared the same view, adding that the price of DRAM products will continue recovering in April, and price hikes will accelerate from June.
Meanwhile, Winbond, ProMos, Powerchip, and Vanguard will upgrade their individual DRAM production technologies to new generation products in the second half, thus increasing overall production volumes. This will help local DRAM makers pave the way for new revenue figures, industry sources said.
Regarding the 64M DRAM production volume for 2000, ProMos is expected to churn out the most, with 220 million units; followed by Winbond, with 180 million; Mosel Vitelic, with 130 million; Powerchip, with 120 million; and Vanguard, with about 100 million. If the price remains at the US$7 per unit mark, most firms expect their pretax earnings per share will hit NT$4 in 2000. |
