Cirtek sees 10-15% growth in sales, profit

Laguna-based semiconductor manufacturer Cirtek Holdings Philippines Corp. expects a 10-15 percent growth in both sales and net profit this year as overall business is seen picking up at a faster pace in the second semester.

Cirtek last week reported a 4-percent year-on-year profit growth in the first semester to $1.8 million on the back of a 5-percent rise in consolidated net sales of $19.3 million. The company said it was expecting a “strong” second-half performance and the conclusion of two major projects that would contribute “significantly” to top-line revenue and profits in the third quarter.

Anthony Buyawe, Cirtek chief finance officer, said the company’s full-year net sales guidance was between $40 million and $42 million and for net income after tax, $4 million to $4.2 million.

“This does not consider the contribution of new projects we have. We will conclude one in two weeks,” Buyawe said in a text message.

The full-year guidance for both top-

line and bottom-line results represents a 10 to 15 percent growth over their year-ago levels.

Cirtek said the first six months of 2012 were “challenging” for the global semiconductor industry, given the Europe debt crisis, the sluggish US economy and a slowdown in the Chinese economy’s growth. These, it said, affected global demand for electronic products using semiconductor device. The company, however, said semiconductor demand in the second half of the year was expected to be “much stronger, as the industry appeared to have embarked on its next growth cycle.

The company’s growth in the first semester was driven mainly by customer- and application-specific packages, the company’s core expertise. At least 65 percent of Cirtek’s output was attributed to customer-specific packages.

Moving forward, Cirtek sees growth in the semiconductor industry to be driven by wireless communication, automotive, industrial electronics and LED applications.