ASM Pacific Technology Limited profits surged last quarter

The company's revenue growth was driven by digital transformation amidst the pandemic.

ASM Pacific Technology Limited (ASMPT) posted a net profit of $1b in the last quarter, recording a year-on-year growth of over 350%.

ASMPT’s fourth quarter revenue increased by 10.5% YoY to 4.92b in the last quarter, linked to the shift to digitalisation that was accelerated by the pandemic and strong demand for personal computing, connectivity, and HPC devices.

“The group emerged relatively unscathed, managing to achieve year-on-year 6.3% revenue growth of $16.89b for the year ended 31 December 2020,” ASMPT reported.

ASMPT also observed an increased demand not just in its mainstream tools but also in its Advanced Packaging solutions, which saw a revenue growth of more than 50% YoY.

Its fourth quarter performance also led to a full-year net profit to growth of 162% YoY to $1.63b. This figure included one-off items and related tax impact.

Further, ASMPT ended 2020 with a strong backlog of $5.93b and a book-to-bill ratio of 1.09. As of 31 December, it held a record cash and bank deposits of $4.46b.

Its Q4 bookings of $5.1b is also a historical high as it posts a 46.3% YoY increase, deviating from its seasonal trend of having its Q4 bookings record the lowest in the year.

“Whilst the pandemic continues to present challenges, we also see unprecedented opportunity from accelerated digital transformation trends among companies, societies and global economies, for example, the increase in ‘life-from-home’ activities of all kinds,” ASMPT’s Group Chief Executive Officer Robin Ng said.

“This significant uptick in digital requirements and needs, in tandem with mega-trends in key areas such as 5G technology, HPC and automotive electrification, drove very robust semiconductor demand globally,” he added.

ASMPT forecasts a strong performance in the first quarter, anticipating a US$500m-US$550m revenue. This will likely be driven by its semiconductor solutions segment.

The semiconductor solutions segment revenue for the fourth quarter of 2020 was also the highest at $2.38b, a 17.3% YoY growth.