UTAC FY05 Net Profit More Than Triples To $41.8 Million On Doubling Of Revenue
• 4Q05 net profit highest-ever at $20.1 million, a five-fold increase over 4Q04
• 4Q05 revenue grew 19% QoQ, above prior guidance of 10-15%
• Record performance marks 10th consecutive quarter of sequential revenue growth and profit
• Guidance of 3-8% sequential revenue growth in 1Q06 vs 4Q05
• Target revenue growth rate of 40% for FY06
Group President and CEO of UTAC, Mr Lee Joon Chung, said, “We are pleased to have
achieved our 10th consecutive quarter of revenue growth and 7th consecutive quarter of profit growth. I would like to commend the UTAC team for achieving a splendid set of results, recording a milestone $100 million in revenue for a quarter while notching over $20 million in quarterly net profit.”
Company Background
The Company was incorporated in Singapore on 26 November 1997 under the name of United Test Center Singapore Pte Ltd and subsequently changed its name to United Test and Assembly Center (S) Pte Ltd in January 1999. It was converted to a public company limited on 15 May 2000 and changed its name to United Test and Assembly Center Ltd.
UTAC is a leading independent provider of test and assembly services for a wide range of semiconductor devices that include memory, mixed-signal/RF and logic integrated circuits. UTAC was ranked as the 9th largest independent provider of semiconductor test in 2002 by Gartner Dataquest. UTAC was ranked as the 8th largest independent provider of semiconductor test in 2004 by Gartner Dataquest.
Headquartered in Singapore, UTAC has manufacturing facilities in Singapore and Shanghai, as well as well-established sales network in Singapore, China, the United States, Italy, Japan and Israel.
UTAC offers full turnkey services that include wafer sort / laser repair, assembly, test, burn-in, mark-scan-pack and drop shipment, as well as value added services such as package design and simulation, test solutions development and device characterization, failure analysis, and full reliability test. The Company's manufacturing facility in Singapore is certified under ISO 9001, QS 9000, ISO 14001 and SAC Level I quality systems.
Its customers comprise integrated device manufacturers, fables companies and wafer foundries that design and manufacture semiconductors that power modern electronic devices. Its expertise in both memory and non-memory (mixed-signal/RF and logic) semiconductor devices allow it to provide wide-ranging solutions such as multi-chip packages that integrate memory and non-memory die. For the non-memory segment, its "BM/W" strategy focuses on further strengthening its capabilities in the faster growing Broadband and Mobile/ Wireless communications sectors
An Article from Dow Jones:
Utac plans expansion by first half of the year: Sources
UNITED Test & Assembly Center (Utac) is pressing ahead quickly with expansion plans in a sign that demand for chip testing and assembly remains robust.“Utac is looking at expanding the Singapore operations by the end of the first half of this year,” a person familiar with the matter told Dow Jones. A second source said the company would expand its Singapore operations by setting up “a new factory”. “They are also expecting to expand in Shanghai ... and are hiring more engineers there,” this second source said. A company spokesperson could not immediately comment. At Utac’s fourth-quarter earnings conference in January, its chief executive Lee Joon Chung indicated the company wanted to expand production facilities but gave few details.“We are looking at an expansion for new sites ... Our Singapore plant is getting quite tight in terms of capacity,” Mr Lee said. At the January conference, Utac forecasted a capital expenditure of US$180 million to US$200 million ($291 million to $324 million) for its current financial year to expand production in Singapore, Taiwan and Shanghai. Utac expects stronger take-up of thirdgeneration mobile handsets and demand for bluetooth and MP3 players to help it reach its target of a 40-per-cent increase in revenue in the current fiscal year. The chip assembler and tester posted a net profit of US$20.1 million for the three months ended Dec 31, compared with the US$3.8 million recorded in the corresponding
period — DOW JONES
Recent Developments For UTAC:
Media Release - UTAC Begins Testing of Satellite Communications Chip For GCT Semiconductor, Inc.
UTAC Selected As Prime Supplier For European Cordless Chip Maker SiTel
UTAC Attains Prestigious TS 16949 Certification For Automotive Sector
UTAC Starts Turnkey Production For Korean MP3 Chip Maker Telechips
Nepes Corp And UTAC To Invest US$30 Million In First 12-Inch Wafer Bumping Facility In Singapore
UTAC Starts Full Turnkey Production For Infineon's 512Mb DDR2 SDRAM
UTAC Strikes Alliance With RF Designer ARFIC; Becomes Partner In Singapore's ICommunity Consortium
UTAC To Be Preferred Partner For Nine Chinese Fabless Companies
Company recently gave its outlook & guidance
2006 capex to be $180~200m
− $98m has been committed in 4Q05 for delivery in 1H06
− Expansion of all sites
− Additional floorspace and capacity in Singapore
− Taiwan to begin MSLP and expand assembly
− Shanghai to begin assembly
Memory – DDR II growth gaining traction
− Chipset issue resolved, DDR II content projected to be >50% by 2H06
− Dual core processors PCs, new OS to drive up memory demand
NAND Flash market continue to be tight
− Additional test capacity in Taiwan
− New applications to sustain growth
Broad-based momentum for MSLP
− Business grew 30% q-o-q in 4Q05
− Faster 3G mobile growth with more 3G content made available globally
− Demand for Bluetooth, MP3 to continue with greater adaptation (eg automotive, PAN)
− Digital media will expand to include digital video
Screenshoots taken from Slides
Management Optimistic About Company.
UTAC operates in a cyclical industry. The investment returns should normally be good if a savvy investor can correctly identify the overall industry cyclical upswing.
UTAC will replace Great Eastern in STI on Wednesday 7th March 2006 and was given a weight of 0.75 which is relatively high.
Singapore's UTAC to replace Great Eastern in STI
See the new changes to the weights of the STI components.
(note: Only changes are shown)
Recapitalisation of STI Component Stock
Cheers
Niversphere.
Please read the prospectus and perform your analysis before making any investment decision. The above does not constitute a recommendation to apply for this company. I will not be liable for any losses incurred by anyone who invests based solely on the above-mentioned information.
United Test and Assembly Center - Good Times Ahead
Want Want Holdings - Hot Kid Leading The Way
1st Q 2005:
Revenue Up 29.6%
EPS Up 47%
2nd Q 2005:
Revenue Up 19.6%
EPS Up 31.48%
3rd Q 2005:
Revenue Up 23.1%
EPS Up 55.56%
4th Q 2005:
Revenue Up 51.5%
EPS Up 93.67%
FULL YEAR 2005 RESULTS:
Revenue Up 31.4%
EPS Up 55.7%
Background
The Company was incorporated in Singapore on 28 October 1995. It changed its name to Want Want Hldgs Ltd on 22 March 1996, in connection with the change in its status to that of a public limited company. The principal activities of the Company are those of an investment holding company. The principal activities of the Group's subsidiaries and associate companies are the manufacturing and trading of snack foods and beverages and related products and investment holdings.
The Group started with I Lan Food Industrial Co Ltd, incorporated in Taiwan on 31 May 1962 and produced canned agricultural products for export. In 1983, I Lan entered into a technical cooperation agreement with Iwatsuka to manufacture rice crackers in Taiwan. Iwatsuka is one of the top rice cracker producers in Japan. Since then, I Lan has achieved a profitable track record and established a strong brand name for its rice cracker products in Taiwan under its Want Want brand name.
Majority of the Group's production facilities are located in China with the remainder in Taiwan. Its products are distributed widely with China taking up a dominant share of sales, followed by Taiwan and other export markets.
For many years, we have seen the great branding success by Want Want. Everyone regardless of age, race or religion would definitely have seen the Hot Kid advertisement on our TV sets. I bet you might be humming to the tone already. I have always admired the innovative taiwanese branding capability, and Want Want's management never failed to impress me either.
See Want Want advertisements(if you haven't got enough of it):
Want Want advertisements
Want Want is definitely the dominant player in the rice crackers industry in China. It operates it in an increasingly competitive environment. Want Want's focus on branding and nice packaging gives them a durable competitive advantage over other competitive brands furthered strengthened by its savvy management.
Want Want made an excellent move in 2002 to introduce the market with another subbrand of its own, Yi Wang. Flipped over the package and you will see the bottom right hand corner, Want Want Holdings in orange bold. This is a strategic move by the management to flood the market and maintain market share while eliminating would be cheap competitions. Based on the lastest financial report, it shows that there is an decrease in the contribution on their subbrand. I would like to think that consumers are increasingly becoming brand conscious and their purchasing habits changed. Want Want range of products broadly categorised as rice crackers, milk products, snacks, candies, beverages (coffee and carbonated drinks).
See their company website : Want Want Website
Many gave doubts when Want Want ventured into building a hospital, Want Want Hospital. Want Want's management talk freely to investors about its affairs and do not clam up when troubles and disappointments occur.In addition, Want Want did share buybacks during in 2003 after BNP Baribas issued an unfavourable report on Want Want. This shows the strength in depth of the management of Want Want.
Based on the lastest balance sheet, it shows that the hospital is starting to show some contribution to the bottomline of the company.Earnings would have been higher by US$ 2.2m if not for the one-off writedown in negative goodwill for acquisition of Qianhe Hotel.
Link: Want Want Hospital
Want Want Holdings is a company with a broad heart and is definitely always welcomed.
"As we have benefited greatly from the support of the general pubic through our years of growth,the Company reciprocates with active involvement in various charitable causes.To-date,Want Want Foundation in China and Singapore,and two funds in Taiwan,namely Want Want Cultural & Educational Fund and Taipei Sze Jeu Welfare Fund Society,have been set up to provide assistance and support to the aged,poor and less privileged Company and major catastrophe."
I recently did a scuttlebutt on our local shopping malls. 
. Want Want Xiao Man Tou
. Want Want Milk
. Want Want Crunchy Chocolate Wafers
. Want Want Rice Crackers - Seaweed
. Want Want Rice Crackers - Senbei(1)
. Want Want Rice Crackers - Senbei(2)
. Want Want Rice Crackers - Crequeline Au Riz
Competition
Want Want in its FY report stated the below market outlook:
Expect key raw materials’ prices to remain stable
Past effort in internal restructuring &
strengthening controls to be continued to yield
better results
Non-food businesses to commence operation
Start-up losses expected but impact would not be
significant in 2006
Continue focus in China given its vast potential
despite keen competition
I expect the Want Want brand to be around for many generations to come. Giving joy and laughter to both young and old. Bridging between generations.
给你旺旺，你旺我旺大家旺旺。
See Fisher's 15 Questions on how he evaluates a company.
Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits
So how do you find Want Want Holdings ? I would like to hear your views. Just add me a comment.
Want Want Annual Report 2004
Want Want AR Archive
Cheers
Niversphere.
Please read the prospectus and perform your analysis before making any investment decision. The above does not constitute a recommendation to apply for this company. I will not be liable for any losses incurred by anyone who invests based solely on the above-mentioned information.