Specialty memory IC design house Elite Semiconductor Memory Technology (ESMT) expects its gross margin to stay high at above 40% in the fourth quarter of 2021, with the prospect that its ASPs will trend upward in 2022.
ESMT has reported its third-quarter 2021 revenues rose 10.82% sequentially to a record high of NT$6.843 billion (US$246.15 million) on robust shipments of specialty memory solutions, with net earnings for the period reaching NT$1.904 billion, equivalent to its total profits for the first-half 2021.
ESMT president MC Chang said at a recent investors conference that its fourth-quarter shipments may see a slight sequential fall due to seasonality, and gross margins may slip from 44.3% in the third quarter but will remain at over 40%.
As Samsung Electronics has notified customers that it will quit its 4Gb DDR3 product line and ask them to adopt DDR4 or other solutions, Chang is optimistic that 4Gb DDR3 prices will stabilize in 2022 as a result.
Chang noted that the ASPs for all its product lines, including NOR flash chips, will have a chance to trend upward again in the second quarter of 2022.
He disclosed that ESMT is expected to secure the same foundry capacity in 2022 as registered in 2021, but will allocate more capacity for high-end products to better bolster its revenue growth for next year.
Chang also noted the company has completed the development of 4G DDR4/3200 MHz, superior to standard 2600 MHz spec in performance, with volume production already kicking off. He added ESMT has also successfully developed 256 Mb/3V Nor flash SOP8 with a larger storage capacity than the SOP 16 offering now available in the market.
ESMT spokesman HC Wu said the company's specialty memory chips are suitable for IoT/AIoT, smart living, network communication, image display, automotive and industrial applications, and its customized SoC memory solutions will provide the largest growth momentum for its 2022 revenues with increasing shipments to clients in Taiwan, China and other parts of the world.
