ASMedia Technology saw its gross margin for the first quarter of 2012 exceed 40% mainly due to increased shipments of SATA 6Gb and USB 3.0 Host controller ICs, and expects to maintain gross margin levels in the second quarter of 2012, according to the company.

ASMedia shipped USB 3.0 Host controller ICs to motherboard vendors, especially its largest shareholder Asustek Computer, and vendors of desktops and notebooks in the first quarter of 2012. Since Intel will launch Ivy Bridge processors which support built-in USB 3.0 in late April, ASMedia will keep an eye on how the support for USB 3.0 will affect market demand for independent USB 3.0 controller ICs, especially in notebooks, the company said.

In addition to landing orders for USB 3.0 bridge controller ICs from Western Digital, Seagate Technology and Toshiba, ASMedia will extend its USB 3.0 product development to NAND flash drives and will launch related products in the second half of 2012.

ASMedia shipped 70 million controller ICs of which nearly 50% were USB 3.0-related ICs in 2011, and expects to ship more than 100 million controller ICs in 2012, including 40 million USB 3.0-related ICs.