Taiwan-based IC test equipment provider Chuangwa Precision Test Tech (CHPT) has tapped into the supply chain of Samsung Electronics, as it has recently received orders for wafer probe cards needed to support the Korean tech giant's production of Exynos series chipsets for midrange and low-end smartphones, according to supply chain sources.
Although Samsung's move to sell part of its in-house developed Exynos application processors to outside vendors of midrange to low-end smartphones will increase pressure on Taiwan IC designer MediaTek, it has brought new opportunities for CHPT and other Taiwan supplier of wafer probe cards. CHPT will start to see revenue contribution from the new Samsung orders in mid-2018, the sources said.
CHPT has had major smartphone application processor suppliers Apple and Qualcomm among its customers, ready to undertake final engineering accreditation or start volume production of wafer probe cards to support fabrication of flagship smartphone APs.
Accordingly, CHPT is expected to enjoy sustained revenue growth momentum from the segment. In January, the company has kicked off small-volume shipments of wafer probe cards needed to support 7nm production of smartphone chipsets, allowing it to expect a minimum on-quarter revenue expansion of 40% in the first quarter of 2018. CHPT's annual revenues for 2017 are estimated to soar 20% on year to NT$3.11 billion (US$107.03 million).
Industry sources said that besides smartphone application processors, such segments as radio frequency components, GPU, and power management modules will also remain mainstay products to support revenue performances of CHPT and other suppliers of IC testing equipment.
Article translated by Willis Ke
