Taiwan's passive component suppliers enjoyed smooth sales in Nov.

Taipei, Dec. 5, 2003 (CENS)--Many major makers of passive electronic components in Taiwan continued enjoying smooth sales in November, with some of them scoring new high revenues in the month.

Holy Stone Enterprise Co., Ltd. Raked in revenue of NT$715 million (US$20.97 million at US$1: NT$34.1) in November, the second highest monthly level. The firm's total revenue for the January-November period reached NT$6.27 billion (US$183.99 million), higher than the annual goal of NT$5.6 billion (US$164.22 million) for this year. The company plans to raise its annual financial forecast.

A senior Holy Stone official said that his company's November revenue slipped 4% from October as the supply shortage of the flash memory products deterred the delivery of consumer electronic products and undermined the sales of positive components, one of Holy Stone's major business categories.

Walsin Technology Corp. vice president Chang Jiah-ning said passive electronic components have enjoyed a longer peak season this year as market demand for such products remains strong after October. Walshin expected its November revenue to grow slightly from October's NT$484 million (US$14.19 million), and its December revenue to drop a little due to seasonal factors.

According to Chang, the demand for passive components is very strong, and some items even see supply fall short of demand. He predicted that the passive component prices are expected to remain stable or even rise slightly early next year.

Yageo Corp. expected its fourth-quarter revenue to grow slightly from the third-quarter level. Yageo's passive component business generated revenue of NT$1.52 billion (US$44.43 million) in October, a new monthly high in 19 months. And its November revenue is expected to stay at a high level.

Industry sources said that big passive component suppliers will become bigger as more and more big international information technology (IT) brands, such as Hewlett-Packard Co. (HP) and Dell, have retrieved or will retrieve the parts and components procurement rights from their contract personal computer assemblers.

In the past, local passive component suppliers had to pass certifications by big international companies, and then dealt with their local contract assemblers. But after big international brands retrieve their parts procurement rights, local makers of passive electronic components will directly face those leading brands.