MediaTek and MStar Semiconductor are likely to suffer on-year declines in revenues for the first quarter of 2011 as the order visibility for the first three months of this year is less positive than that a year earlier in addition to a high base recorded in the first quarter of 2010, according to industry sources.
MediaTek's revenues for the fourth quarter of 2010 were down 19.3% sequentially, which was in line with the company's projection for a 15-20% on-quarter decline. Despite the decline, MediaTek said the results reflected fundamentals and the company is waiting for demand to pick up.
On a quarterly basis, MediaTek is expected to see its revenues stay flat in the first quarter due to strong demand from the China market and increasing shipments of smartphone and 3G handset chipsets, the sources indicated.
Amid the seasonal downturn, MStar has seen its share prices continue to slide since the shares were debuted on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TSE) on December 24. MStar shares finished lower at NT$253 on January 7, a 15.7% decline from its initial offering of NT$300.