Realtek Expects a Solid Revenue Growth in Q1 2011

It appears that, unlike certain other semiconductor companies, Realtek is actually quite optimistic in regards to its performance during the ongoing first quarter of 2011, or so says a certain recent report.

The situation on the semiconductor market can be seen as a sort of mosaic if one were to consider each type of chip a single piece of the giant puzzle.

For instance, CPU (central processing unit) sales were quite solid, as were shipments of GPUs (graphics processing units), while memory chips went through more unusual times.

DRAM chips, for instance, went through a serious period of price decline, period that is actually still ongoing.

NAND Flash devices, on the other hand, managed to rebound at some point during late 2010, and have since slightly recovered or stayed flat each week.

A-Data was one of the companies most affected by all this, being primarily a supplier of DRAM memory.

Now, Realtek is offering a sort of contrast through its optimism in regards to the first quarter of 2011, otherwise known as the January-March period.

Granted, in the fourth quarter of 2010, Realtek did see its revenues fall, by 11.4% to be exact, leading to net profits of NT$25 million and EPS of NY$0.01.

These sums denote, basically, the lowest quarterly performance in the past 10 years and correspond to a gross margin drop to 36% from 39% in Q4 2009.

For those that want further numbers, 2010 concluded with a gross margin of 38%, revenues of NT$22.2 billion, net profits of NT$1.69 billion and an EPS of NT$3.46.

Fortunately, the PC sector is expected to show a strong demand, while the semiconductor industry should rebound as well, so Realtek expects good things ahead.

Revenues are set to grow by 15-20% sequentially, to NT$5.4-5.65 billion, which is the equivalent of US$185.95-194.56 million.