IC design house MediaTek has forecast consolidated revenues for the first quarter of 2015 will be between NT$45.5 billion (US$1.44 billion) and NT$49.9 billion, representing a sequential decline of 10-18%.

Smartphone vendors' transition from old to new products, seasonal factors as well as fewer working days due to the Lunar New Year holidays will affect negatively MediaTek's sales performance during the quarter, according to company president Hsieh Ching-chiang. Gross margin will be 46-48% in the first quarter.

In addition, MediaTek's shipments for smartphones are set to top 450 million units in 2015, up about 29% from the 350 million units shipped in 2014, Hsieh indicated. Meanwhile, shipments for 4G LTE devices will reach 150 million units in 2015, Hsieh said.

MediaTek is looking to expand significantly its presence in China's LTE chip market in 2015, Hsieh noted. Strong shipments for LTE solutions will contribute to the company's revenue growth during the year. MediaTek expects to post a double-digit revenue increase in 2015, according to Hsieh.

MediaTek reported consolidated revenues of NT$55.45 billion for the fourth quarter of 2014, down 3.5% on quarter. Gross margin for the quarter slid 1.2pp sequentially to 47.9%. On an annual basis, however, both revenue and gross margin results represented growth of 39.3% and 2.2pp, respectively.

MediaTek generated net profits of NT$665 million in the fourth quarter of 2014, compared to profits of NT$851 million in the previous quarter and NT$643 million a year earlier.

For all of 2014, MediaTek's consolidated sales and net profits both climbed to record highs of NT$213.06 billion and NT$46.4 billion, respectively. Earnings for the year translated into a net EPS of NT$30.04 compared to the NT$20.51 reported for 2013.