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Technology Stocks : Applied Materials No-Politics Thread (AMAT) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Proud_Infidel who wrote (10381)	6/15/2004 10:38:42 AM
From: Proud_Infidel	Respond to of 25522

IC design firm having hard time raising LCD driver IC prices Cage Chao, Taipei; Jack Lu, DigiTimes.com [Tuesday 15 June 2004] IC design trying to pass on rising costs by increasing prices for LCD driver ICs are having a harder time than expected, according to sources at Taiwan’s top-tier IC design firms. Instead, the design firms may see dropping gross margins this quarter. As reported in February, prices for LCD driver ICs were expected to increase by 5-8% in Taiwan this quarter to reflect rising foundry, packaging and testing costs. However, with their large procurement volume, panel makers still control the bargaining power. In addition, some second-tier design firms are offering more competitive pricing to win orders, the sources indicated. With production costs expected to continue rising in the next quarter, profitability at top-tier players may drop further. Vanguard International Semiconductor (VIS), a major LCD driver IC foundry service provider, plans to raise prices for 0.35-micron, high voltage processing to US$1,000 per 8-inch wafer next quarter from the current industry average of US$850-950, according to sources. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) and United Microelectronics Corporation (UMC) may follow suit as demand for foundries remains strong, the sources speculated.