Ardentec to enhance its current capacity

TAIPEI: Wafer tester Ardentec, which currently functions at 90 p.c capacity thanks to increasing orders, is looking at increasing its capacity in each quarter, but slow equipment deliveries which are hampering its development plans.

 Ardentec's consolidated revenues for the current second quarter of the year 2010 are expected to grow by single digits successively, buoyed by increasing demand for communications chips, logic ICs and power management solutions. The company's first-quarter revenues of NT$1.18 billion (US$37.6 million) marked a fresh quarterly record.

 According to the company, turnover generated from logic IC and SoC testing jointly account for 68 per cent of Ardentec's total revenues. Likewise Memory products and LCD driver ICs, correspondingly, contribute 24 per cent and 8 per cent to the testing house's sales.

Ardentec said IDM companies currently account for 60 per cent of its revenues, IC designers for 28 per cent and foundries the remaining 12 p.c.

 Ardentec has anticipated a capex of NT$1.5 billion (US$48 million) for the year 2010, a considerable increase from NT$780 million to be paid in the year 2009. The test company said 70 per cent of the total budget shall be utilized to purchase equipment, and the remains for factory and cleanroom construction.

 Ardentec said it does not ignore the likelihood of revising increasing its annual capex later in the year.

According to a company filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TSE), Ardentec has signed a syndicated loan worth NT$2.28 billion with a consortium led by seven commercial banks.