Semiconductor component supply constraints bludgeoned Ayala-led electronics manufacturer Integrated Micro-Electronics Inc. (IMI) in the second quarter, but net loss narrowed significantly from the level seen in the same period last year.
Second quarter net loss amounted to $1.3 million compared to the net loss of $17.48 million in the same period last year. However, this reversed the $2.19-million net profit seen in the first quarter of this year.
Shored up by its first quarter earnings, IMI still booked a net profit of $915,000 in the first semester, a turnaround from the $23.04-million net loss in the same period last year.
‘Turbulent waters’
“We are still navigating through turbulent waters, but we see an easing of the supply chain challenges in the second half of 2021,” said IMI president Jerome Tan.
“Although the issues brought about by the global component shortage affected the entire industry, we choose to focus on excelling in the areas we can control. Through rigorous collaboration with customers and suppliers, our order books remain robust with high levels of customer demand,” he added.
IMI booked $319 million in revenues in the second quarter, 45-percent higher year-on-year despite what it described as “persistently long lead times for semiconductor components.” Quarter-on-quarter revenues, however, declined by 2.6 percent as supply constraints continued to tighten, leading to increased backlog levels compared to the first quarter.
6.6 percent gross margins
Such headwinds also led to production and supply chain inefficiencies that reduced gross margins to 6.6 percent resulting in a net loss of $1.3 million for the quarter.
For the six-month period, revenues amounted to $647 million, about 194-percent better than the topline level in the same period last year.
“IMI continues to build its pipeline by winning new projects that should allow us to improve performance as soon as the supply chain finds its balance,” Tan said.
In the first half, IMI’s wholly owned businesses bagged new deals with an annual revenue potential of $254 million, exceeding new contracts sealed during the entire 2020.