SMIC rides on China fabless growth

Junko Yoshida, EETimes
4/25/2013 4:26 PM EDT

Five consecutive quarters of revenue growth posted by Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. (SMIC) through the first quarter of 2013 paint a picture of a new SMIC, with solid operations carefully managed by CEO T.Y. Chiu. It also tells a story of the rapid growth of China fabless companies over the recent years and how SMIC is finally profiting from that trend.

SMIC announced Tuesday (April 24) what Chiu called “another record-high revenue” of $501.6 million in the first quarter of 2013, growing by 50.8 percent compared with a year ago. The company’s gross margin also improved to 20.4%, compared with 12% in the first quarter of 2012. Income attributable to SMIC was $40.6 million in the first quarter 2013 compared with a loss of $42.8 million in first quarter last year. “Utilization improved to 89 percent, compared to 74.1% last year,” according to Chiu. “Despite normal low seasons of fourth quarter and first quarter, we've achieved five consecutive quarters of revenue growth and four consecutive quarters of net profit.”

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