Unisem eyes 10% increase in 2H15 revenue

KUALA LUMPUR: Semi-conductor packaging and test service provider, Unisem Bhd, is eyeing a 10 per cent increase in revenue for the second half of this year.

Group Chief Operating Officer, Lee Hoong Leong said the rosy outlook is supported by strong global demand for its products such as wafer bumping, wafer-level chip-scale packaging (WLCSP) and radar frequencies devices, used in  smartphones and the automotive segments.

"We expect the smartphone, automotive and sensor segments to continue the momentum in the second half of 2015," he said after the company's annual general meeting, here today.

He said currently, smartphones contributed about 40 per cent to the group's bottomline and the automotive and sensor segments, about 20 per cent, with the rest from the industrial and testing business.

"We foresee growth of between five to 10 per cent in the automotive and sensor sectors. 

"We also expect the continued strong worldwide adoption of 4G, demand for smartphones, increasing electronic content in automotives and the emergence of new categories of wearable devices," Lee added.

The Washington-based Semi-Conductor Industry Association said worldwide semi-conductor sales recorded US$28.5 billion for January 2015, the highest ever for the month.

Unisem Chairman John Chia Sin Tet said the group allocated a higher capital expenditure (Capex) of RM100 million this year from the RM16 million in 2014.

He said from the allocation, about RM40 million -RM60 million would be used in mid-year to expand the company's leadless, wafer bumping and WLCSP capacity at its three facilities in Perak, China and Indonesia.
 "All three facilities were running at an utilisation rate of about 65 per cent as of end-2014.

"The restructuring of leaded package to chip scale, requires less workforce, which helps free up factory space by between 20 per cent to 25 per cent," he added.

Unisems 2014 annual report revealed that about 62 per cent of its sales was in North America with 19 per cent in Europe and Asia, and expects the trend to continue.

"We are committed to be debt-free by year-end and our latest accounts show, total borrowings and debt securities at RM214.5 million," Chia said.

For the first quarter ended March 31, 2015, Unisem's pre-tax profit surged to RM26.97 million from RM11.06 million for the same quarter last year.

Revenue jumped to RM280.05 million from RM228.04 million previously.-Bernama