Revenues at semiconductor packaging and testing houses will likely register a 5-10% sequential decrease in the first quarter of 2012, affected by fewer working days, according to industry observers.
Industry leader Advanced Semiconductor Engineering (ASE) will see its sales generated from the computing and consumer PC sectors affected by the low season during the first quarter, the observers said. However, sales from the communication segment are set to be relatively strong thanks to brisk orders for handset-use ICs, the observers indicated.
Siliconware Precision Industries (SPIL) has seen orders received for the first quarter similar to the prior quarter's level, the observers revealed. The firm should maintain its utilization rate at 70-80% in the first quarter, the observers said.
ASE and SPIL will hold their quarterly investors meetings on February 10 and February 15, respectively. Both firms have not given their guidance for the first quarter.
In addition, ChipMOS Technologies has guided its first-quarter revenues will slip by up to 5% sequentially with a possibility of flat growth. ChipMOS provides backend services mainly for panel-use driver ICs.
Powertech Technology (PTI), a memory packaging and testing specialist, expects to post a larger 10-15% decline in first-quarter revenues. The firm has reiterated plans to shift its focus away from commodity DRAM products.