Don't expect the surge to last, says ASM

ASM Pacific Technology (0522) says the strong performance in first-quarter bookings will be hard to sustain in the long term.

The supplier of semiconductor assembly announced the first-quarter net profit skyrocketed more than 21 times to HK$521.51million year-on-year but fell 48 percent quarter-on-quarter.

Bookings surged to an all-time high of HK$7.83 billion. Revenue rose 45.6 percent from a year ago to HK$4.34 billion.

The company expects to record revenue of US$600 million (HK$4.68 billion) to US$650 million in the second quarter through a strong backlog.

Chief executive Robin Gerard Ng Cher Tat said the group planned to outsource to increase productivity to deal with the global chip shortage.

Meanwhile, the United States faces a national security crisis due to its lack of semiconductor production, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo told senators in a hearing on President Joe Biden's infrastructure plan.

The US is entirely reliant on China and Taiwan for semiconductors, Raimondo told members of the Senate Appropriations Committee.

Biden's US$2.25 trillion infrastructure proposal calls for US$50 billion for the National Science Foundation to create a technology directorate that would focus on semiconductor manufacturing, among other things.

UBS estimated that the chip shortage is taking a toll of 5 percent to 10 percent on global first-quarter sales of vehicles.