Flash memory card and drive maker Gigastone, which will debut on Taiwan's emerging stock market on October 21, ramped up its production of NAND Flash controller ICs to 2.5 million units in September and will ship a comparable amount in October, according to company chairman Wang Li-min.

　　Of the total production of NAND Flash controller chips, 30% are consumed in-house for production of own-brand flash memory cards, while the remaining 70% are sold to other flash device makers, Wang noted.

　　Micro SD memory cards accounted for 72% of Gigastone's total sales in the third quarter of 2013, followed by other controller chips and specialized memory ICs at 15%, wireless and mobile phone peripherals at 8%, and video products at 5%.

　　However, the company aims to ramp up the ratio of non-memory card products, including wireless devices and mobile power chargers, to over 50% of its total sales in 2016, Wang revealed.

　　The supply of NAND Flash chips is expected to remain tight in the first quarter of 2014, but the risk of oversupply is high in the second half of the year due to the new production capacity coming online from Samsung Electronics' new plant in Xian, China, Wang noted.

　　Gigastone posted revenues of NT$5.71 billion (US$194.5 million) in the first three quarter of 2013, decreasing 1.2% from a year earlier. The company also recorded net profits of NT$197 million or an EPS of NT$4.45 in the first half of 2013.