Macronix posted net loss of NT$0.88 per share in Q1

Taipei, May 2, 2003 (CENS)--Macronix International Co. said yesterday that the firm suffered after-tax losses of NT$3.12 billion in the first quarter, compared with only NT$2.7 billion in the same period of 2002 and translating into loss of NT$0.88 per share.

In the first quarter, the local memory maker raked in revenue of about NT$3 billion, down 36% from the fourth quarter of 2002. The firm attributed the revenue decline to both the change of product lines and lower capacity utilization rate.

Macronix International's revenue from the core business, especially mask memory, dropped by 38% in the first quarter due to the seasonal factor, compared with the fourth quarter of 2002. Its revenue ratio from such products also declined to 43% at the same time, down from 45%.

Meanwhile, the firm's revenue ratio for system logic chips stood at 13% during the January-March period, compared with 16% in the fourth quarter and 17% in the same period of last year. The revenue ratio for the strategic manufacturing service reached about 4% in the first quarter, a slight growth from 2% recorded in the fourth quarter but down from 8% in the same period a year earlier.

Regarding flash memory, Macronix International posted a whopping revenue growth of 117% in the first quarter, representing a revenue ratio of up to 35%. The sales volume and amount of N-bit 64Mb, a high density flash memory, continued growing in five straight quarters.

Executives at Macronix International said that the revenue from 0.18 micron-based technology products commanded a ratio of 29% in the first quarter, up from 20% in the fourth quarter of 2002 and only 1% in the same period of 2002. The revenue ratio for the firm's top ten clients, especially from the Asian region, stood at about 44%.

Wu Ming-chiu, company president, said that deliveries to both Nintendo and Mitsubishi would be smooth until the second quarter. Macronix International expects its revenue to enjoy a double-digit growth rate in the second quarter.

However, Wu said that the price of flash products would keep declining in the coming months. Macronix International expects to suffer total losses of NT$5.88 billion for 2003, or an EPS of -NT$2.11.