Major chip resistor makers score increased orders in Q1

Taipei, Feb. 6, 2003 (CENS)--Major chip resistor makers in Taiwan have received increased orders in the first quarter, industry sources said yesterday.

For instance, Yageo Corp., Ta-I Technology Corp., and Ralec Electronics Corp. said that mounting chip resistor orders kept their production lines busy until the end of January. With the exception of February, their average capacity utilization rates have stood at relatively high levels in the first quarter of the year.

Executives at Yageo said that its delivery ratio for 0402 chip resistors would reach 15% out of its overall chip resistor deliveries in 2003. The firm produced an average of 11 billion and 12 billion chip resistors per month in 2002, with the capacity utilization rate reaching about 70%.

Yageo said that its delivery ratio for large sized chip resistors such as 0603 and 0805 models will hit up to 70% in 2003. The 0402 models are mainly used in mobile handsets and motherboards, which will climb to 20% this year.

Meanwhile, Ta-I Technology said that the overall production capacity of its three plants in mainland China would exceed that of its Taiwan plant beginning in the second half. Its production is expected to hit eight billion units in 2003, up over 30% from six billion units in 2002.

Ta-I Technology is now able to produce about five billion chip resistors per year. Its Dongguan and Kunshan plants can produce 2.5 billion units per year, about the same figure as from the Taiwan plant.

As for Ralec Electronics, the firm's Kunshan plant has started formal production since December, with the production capacity to reach about three billion units per year. Its monthly revenue stands at about NT$20 million.

Ralec Electronics expects its mainland plant will expand production capacity to one billion units per year.

Institutional stock investors said Ralec's two mainland plants in Kunshan and Shenzhen would create profits of over NT$60 million in 2003.