HK ASM Pacific Says Not Interested In Acquiring Peer K&S
Tuesday July 29, 3:23 am ET
HONG KONG (Dow Jones)--The world's leading semiconductor assembly equipment and material maker, ASM Pacific Technology Ltd., Tuesday said it isn't considering acquiring competitor Kulicke & Soffa Industries Inc. .
"We aren't considering the move as we don't think it will benefit us in any way," Managing Director Patrick Lam said at a press briefing.
He was responding to a question by a reporter who noted ASM Pacific had replaced K&S as the industry's leading player in the past two years.
Lam cited K&S's heavy debts as a deterrent to an acquisition.
ASM Pacific reported a 41% on-year rise in net profit to HK$190.6 million for the first half to June, and a 30% increase in revenue to HK$1.08 billion.
K&S posted a net loss US$48.3 million on revenue of US$365 million for the nine months to June.
As of the end of June, K&S had total liabilities of US$441.9 million, including US$300.5 million in long-term debt.
Lam said ASM Pacific expects to continue to outperform its peers in both revenue growth and profitability in 2003.
Innovative solutions to semiconductor packaging help the company stand out from its competitors, he said. Recently introduced products include stacked dies, image sensor assemblies, high-brightness light-emitting diodes, and power devices bonded with copper wires.
Lam declined to comment on the outlook for the chip-packaging and equipment industry in the second half, but cited various analysts as projecting 8%-13% growth for the semiconductor industry in 2003.
ASM Pacific has earmarked HK$160 million for capital expenditure in 2003, some of which will be used to install a new etching facility in the fourth quarter to boost capacity of QFN microchip etched frames.
-By Julie Wang, Dow Jones Newswires; 852-2802-7002; julie.wang@dowjones.com
-Edited by Andrew Bullard |
