Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp (力積電) yesterday said it expects its factory utilization rate to drop by as much as 10 percent this quarter, but is working on reallocating idled capacity to manufacturing power management chips to mitigate an industry slump.
Inventory correction at customers has dealt a heavy blow to three of the chipmaker’s product lines — display driver ICs, specialty DRAM and CMOS image sensors — which made up about 40 percent of its revenue last quarter, the company said.
Some customers have not honored long-term supply agreements to ease mounting inventory pressure, Powerchip said.
Gross margin this quarter is expected to