Taiwan-based Transcend Information has disclosed that it will start constructing a large production base in northern Taiwan, where it plans to house 20 production lines for a monthly capacity of 7.7 million memory modules, later in the second quarter of 2009.
Transcend currently has no plans to raise funds via a private placement or a rights issue, said the company, adding that its capital is sufficient to cover the budget for construction of the new plant.
With the addition of the new plant, expected to be completed in 2010, Taiwan will be home to most of Trasncend's production, the company said. Production in China currently accounts for 70% of Transcend's total capacity, with the rest in Taiwan.
Transcend said it recorded total shipments of 22.29 million memory products in the first quarter of 2009. Of the shipments, NAND flash devices grew 28.3% on year to 17.98 million units, whereas the DRAM module segment slid 7.5% to 3.28 million. As for its strategic products that include digital photo frames and digital music players, shipments totaled 1.03 million units in the first quarter, a 87.4% jump compared to a year ago.
For 2009, the memory module specialist said it intends to focus its efforts on SSDs (solid-state drives), and building its brand awareness in the market. Transcend said it has been working closely with its notebook customers.
Transcend has announced an unaudited net profit of NT$908 million (US$26.7 million) for the first quarter of 2009, up 44.6% sequentially and 140% on year. The net profit is equivalent to net earnings per share (EPS) of NT$2.3, beating market expectations.
Source: Company, compiled by Digitimes, April 2009
Article translated by Jessie Shen
