Chartered's Q1 sales falls 4% amid falling ASPs

Chartered's Q1 sales falls 4% amid falling ASPs
By Mark LaPedus , Semiconductor Business News
April 16, 2003 (6:53 p.m. EST)
URL: http://www.eetimes.com/story/OEG20030416S0041

SINGAPORE - Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing Pte. Ltd. today (April 16, 2003) reported sales of $103.8 million for the first quarter of 2003, up 23.1 percent from Q1 2002 but down 3.8 percent sequentially.

The Singaporean foundry provider also reported a loss of $75.7 million in the quarter, compared to a loss of $128.4 million in Q1 2002 and a deficit of $108.7 in Q4 2002.

Capacity utilization in first quarter 2003 was 45 percent, compared to 28 percent in the year-ago quarter, and 39 percent in fourth quarter 2002.

The company "saw increased demand in all segments of our business, particularly in the computer segment," said Chia Song Hwee, president and CEO of Chartered, in a statement. "Continued gains in advanced technology products, which we define as 0.18-micron and below, were a significant factor in our growth. They represented 43% of our total business base revenues in the first quarter, more than a six-fold increase compared to first quarter 2002," he said.

Shipments in first quarter 2003 were 111.6 thousand wafers (eight-inch equivalent), an increase of 36.8 percent compared to 81.6 thousand wafers (eight-inch equivalent) in first quarter 2002. Shipments in first quarter 2003 increased by 6.4 percent compared to 104.9 thousand wafers (eight-inch equivalent) shipped in fourth quarter 2002.

Average Selling Price (ASP) decreased by 9.5 percent from $1,029 per wafer in fourth quarter 2002 to $931 per wafer in first quarter 2003. The reduction was primarily due to customer mix and pricing pressures. Compared to first quarter 2002, ASP declined 10.0 percent from $1,034 per wafer.

The company painted a mixed picture going forward. "Global economic weakness continues to pace the semiconductor market recovery. The war in Iraq and the outbreak of SARS in various parts of the world adds additional uncertainty to the outlook," said George Thomas, vice president and CFO of Chartered, in a statement.

"Based on our current ass essment of the second quarter, we expect Chartered revenues to be up approximately 10-15% sequentially and utilization to improve from 45% in first quarter to approximately 53% in second quarter," he said. "ASP is expected to be down in second quarter as a result of higher shipments of mature technologies due to progress in Chartered's mature fab strategy, pricing pressures and changes in customer mix."