Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC) has announced that it swung to net profits of US$13.1 million in 2010, after five years of losses.
SMIC earned net profits of US$68.57 million in the fourth quarter of 2010, compared with profits of US$30.44 million in the prior quarter and losses of US$617.66 million a year earlier. Revenues for the fourth quarter grew 0.4% sequentially and 23.6% on year to US$411.8 million.
SMIC's revenues climbed 45.2% to US$1.55 billion in 2010, hitting an all-time high, the company revealed.
"In summary, we achieved a profitable 2010, successful 65nm ramp up thus far, improved operations and overall customer relationships," said SMIC CEO David NK Wang.
Sales generated from 65nm accounted for 8.6% of SMIC's overall fourth-quarter 2010 revenues, compared to 7.1% in the previous quarter and 2.5% a year earlier. Meanwhile, the sales proportion from 0.13-micron and above processes slid to 76% in the fourth quarter from 76.7% in the third quarter and 81.3% in the fourth quarter of 2009.
In terms of sales breakdown by application, SMIC saw sequential growth in sales generated from the communications sector in the fourth quarter while the consumer and computer segments showed decreases. As for geographic regions, North America remained the largest contributor to SMIC's sales in the fourth quarter with a more than 50% share.
SMIC ran at 96.8% utilization rate in the fourth quarter, compared to 91.5% in fourth-quarter 2009. Wafer shipments increased to 517,404 8-inch equivalent wafers in the fourth quarter of 2010 from the 436,816 units a year earlier.
"We continue to ramp up 65/55nm and to bring our 45/40nm into production by the end of 2011," Wang indicated. SMIC aims to outgrow the industry average in 2011, he noted.
Due to seasonal factors, SMIC said revenues are likely to decline 6-9% sequentially in the first quarter of 2011. Gross margin for the quarter is estimated at 18-20%, down from 23.9% in the fourth quarter of 2010.
In addition, SMIC has budgeted US$1 billion in capex for 2011 compared to the US$728 million allocated in 2010.