CHPT expecting revenue to improve

sTRONG TESTING DEMAND:
Thanks to AI-related and HPC business, revenue last month surged 45.35% year-on-year to NT$302 million, the highest level in 20 months

• By Lisa Wang / Staff reporter

Chunghwa Precision Test Technology Co (CHPT, 中華精測), a chip testing and wafer probing services provider, yesterday said it expects improvements in revenue and gross margin in the second half of this year and next year, thanks to strong testing demand for artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing (HPC) chips.

In addition, the company has the competitive edge in providing advanced testing services for AI graphics processing units (GPUs) and HPC chips, CHPT president Scott Huang (黃水可) said at the Semicon Taiwan trade show at the Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center.

“Artificial intelligence has created good business opportunities for us,” Huang said.

Photo: CNA

“The second half will be better than the first half and we anticipate a better year next year compared with this year,” he said.

The company in July said that its new probe card solutions, used in AI GPU testing, were under customers’ verification. It had started small volume shipments by testing high-bandwidth-memory chips and expected revenue contribution to emerge next year, the company said at the time.

Thanks to HPC and AI-related business, the company’s revenue last month surged 45.35 percent year-on-year to NT$302 million (US$9.38 million), the highest level in 20 months.

During the first eight months, revenue climbed 5.41 percent to NT$2 billion from a year earlier.

Gross margin last quarter rose to 52.4 percent as faster design flows and operational efficiency on the back of integrating AI technology in the company’s operations led to a reduction in costs, Huang said.

Gross margin is expected to rise to between 50 percent and 55 percent on average this year, a pickup from 48.26 percent last year, and the company’s goal is to keep its gross margin stable at 50 percent in the long term, he said.

CHPT recently received orders from a US customer, which was impressed by the Taoyuan-based company’s 3D imaging technology, Huang said.

The company uses the technology in the drilling process to improve precision, drilling depth and residual copper rate, achieving a 100 percent yield in back drilling, he said, adding that the company is a pioneer among the world’s wafer testing companies in adopting the technology.