(Taipei News) Winbond Electronics Corp. today announced its first quarter revenue and profits for this year. The total revenue of the first quarter of 2000 was NT$9.61 billion, an increase of nearly 47% when compared with NT$6.53 billion over the same period last year. The net profit, before tax, for the first quarter of this year was 1.41 billion, and increase of approximately 35 times when compared over the same period last year. The after tax was 2.02 billion, and increase of approximately 5 times when compared NT$340 million over the same period last year.
In the first quarter, the revenue for the General IC Business Group was about 51% of Winbond's total revenue; an increase of 40% when compared with the first quarter of last year. The major driving force behind this growth included product price increases, the launching of new products and expanding market opportunities. Compared with the traditional high-growth period in the forth quarter of last year, this is a 6% reduction. This slight reduction is attributed mainly to the season of the year and the reduction of actual work days in the first quarter.
The revenue of DRAM Business Group contributed the remaining 49% of the companys revenue in the first quarter, an increase of 54% when compared with the first quarter of last year. This increase is attributed mainly to production capacity expansion and processing technology improvements. The revenue for the first quarter was 27% less than that of the forth quarter of last year, due mainly to reductions in product pricing and the volatility of the DRAM market. However, with strong demand anticipated in the second half of this year, the Company has reserved an adequate amount of DRAM inventory.
Prospects for the next three quarters, both for the General IC Business Group and DRAM Business Group, show continued growth potential for revenue. It is expected that DRAM product prices will stabilize and then gradually increase during the second quarter of this year. In addition, it is anticipated that worldwide, supply will not be able to meet the increased demand for the second half of the year. Because of planned increased production capacity and the Company's processing technology transition to 0.175 micron in the second quarter, it is expected that revenues derived from DRAM sales will increase dramatically. The main force driving growth in the General IC Business Group will be flash memory products, LCD-driven ICs, PC and CD-ROM related products. Thus, the overall revenue growth from this group may reach 40%.
The combination of Winbond's general IC products and advanced DRAM products provide Winbond with a Total Solution Approach for its customers. This complementary approach to providing a full range of solutions for customer needs serves to strengthen the Company's long-term competitive edge against its competitors in the IC business. Providing customers with a breath and depth of products also enables the Company to maintain a leading position in the growing trend of providing SOC (System-on-a-Chip) solutions.
Spokesperson
Wilson Wen
Vice President of Administrative Center
Tel：03-5792755
Email：wswen@winbond.com
News Liaison
Mike Liu
Deputy Director
Tel：03-5792516
Email：ckliu@winbond.com