IMOS

[la-onda]

nice news, bad chart...
news:
Spansion NOR flash orders to Taiwan packaging houses double on year

Commercial Times, October 28; Esther Lam, DigiTimes.com [Monday 30 October 2006]

In line with posting narrowing losses in the previous quarter, sources cited by a Chinese-language Commercial Times report said that the number of orders from Spansion's NOR flash backend production to ChipMOS Technologies, King Yuan Electronics Company (KYEC) and Powertech Technology Incorporated (PTI) have more than doubled as the memory maker attempts to improve its cost structure by boosting the proportion 90nm output.

[Amarens]

Is it just me....?? I don't get this stock 

Amarens

[la-onda]

much better as excpected 
would this be now a pick again for the official portfolio?
cheers
Oliver

ChipMOS REPORTS THIRD QUARTER RESULTS

November 06, 2006 16:11:00 (ET)

HSINCHU, Taiwan, Nov 06, 2006 /Xinhua-PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- ChipMOS TECHNOLOGIES (Bermuda) LTD. ("ChipMOS" or the "Company") (IMOS, Trade) today reported unaudited consolidated financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2006. All U.S. dollar figures in this release are based on the exchange rate of NT$33.10 against US$1.00 as of September 29, 2006.

Under ROC GAAP, net revenue for the third quarter of 2006 was NT$5,312.5 million or US$160.5 million, an increase of 38.5% from NT$3,836.3 million or US$115.9 million for the same period in 2005 and an increase of 11.3% from NT$4,774.7 million or US$144.3 million in the second quarter of 2006. On a consolidated basis, the gross margin under ROC GAAP for the third quarter of 2006 was 28.3%, compared to 25.3% for the same period in 2005 and 28.5% for the second quarter of 2006. Under ROC GAAP, net income for the third quarter of 2006 was NT$481.5 million or US$14.6 million, and NT$7.00 or US$0.21 per common share, compared to net income of NT$203.7 million or US$6.1 million, and NT$3.01 or US$0.09 per common share, for the same period in 2005 and net income of NT$316.4 million or US$9.6 million, and NT$4.62 or US$0.14 per common share, for the second quarter of 2006. Under US GAAP, net income for the third quarter of 2006 was NT$555.6 million or US$16.8 million, and NT$8.08 or US$0.24 per common share.

The unaudited consolidated financial results of ChipMOS for the third quarter ended September 30, 2006 included the financial results of ChipMOS TECHNOLOGIES INC., ChipMOS Japan Inc., ChipMOS U.S.A., Inc., ChipMOS TECHNOLOGIES (H.K.) Limited, MODERN MIND TECHNOLOGY LIMITED and its wholly- owned subsidiary ChipMOS TECHNOLOGIES (Shanghai) LTD., and ThaiLin Semiconductor Corp.

On October 18, 2006, noteholders converted US$7,000,000 in aggregate principal amount of its 1.75% Convertible Senior Notes due 2009 (the "Notes") into 1,114,649 common shares pursuant to the Company's induced conversion offer, dated October 17, 2006. Pursuant to the induced conversion offer, the Company paid approximately US$490,000 to the converting noteholders.

In addition, on November 3, 2006, the Company repurchased US$6,300,000 in aggregate principal amount of the Notes pursuant to the noteholders' put option under the Indenture (the "Indenture"), dated as of November 3, 2004, between the Company and The Bank of New York, as trustee. Under the Indenture, each noteholder had the right to require the Company to repurchase on November 3, 2006 such noteholder's Notes at a repurchase price equal to 100% of the principal amount plus accrued and unpaid interest. After November 3, 2006, noteholders may require the Company repurchase the Notes only upon the occurrence of certain fundamental changes.

S.J. Cheng, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of ChipMOS, said, "Revenue in the third quarter came in better than the high end of our prior guidance. This reflects the continued demand strength in memory testing, and memory and mixed-signal assembly. DDR II and DRAM demand remains robust. We are also encouraged by the recovery in TCP (Tape Carrier Package)/COF (Chip On Film) assembly and testing business that started in August. We expect the utilization rate for TCP/COF will remain above 90% for the coming months. We are also encouraged by the growth of our flash business. We expect continued growth in this segment based on customer order indications and new programs ramping."

S.K. Chen, Chief Financial Officer of ChipMOS, said, "We achieved a gross margin above 28% for the second quarter in a row. While we remain financially conservative, our strong balance sheet and credit lines provide us with the flexibility to strategically invest in customer programs that are capable of meeting our growth requirements. As a result, capital expenditures were US$112.4 million in the third quarter. It was necessary that we accelerated our capital expenditures in the third quarter given customer demand levels for flash and DDR II testing. Our plan is to reduce our annual capex level by 30% to 40% in 2007 given the fact that we believe we will have adequate capacity in place to support our customers and their program ramps. This will allow ChipMOS to focus on margin expansion and revenue growth, while also improving our cash flow."

Selected Operation Data for Third Quarter 2006 
-- Revenue by segment 
   Testing   Assembly    LCD Driver 
      46%       34%         20% 
-- Utilization by segment 
   Testing   Assembly    LCD Driver (TCP/COF, COG, Bumping)   Overall 
       86%       81%         71%    (76%, 67%, 40%)                  81% 
-- CapEx  by segment 
   Testing   Assembly    LCD Driver 
      89%       10%         1% 
-- Depreciation and amortization expenses 
   3rd Quarter        2nd Quarter 
   US$44.4 million   US$39.0 million 

Fourth Quarter 2006 Outlook 

Based on current customer forecasts and market conditions, ChipMOS currently expects revenue for the fourth quarter of 2006 will be in the range of approximately US$168 million to US$172 million, which would represent sequential growth of approximately 5% to 7% compared to the third quarter of 2006. After considering the effect of exchange rates, we currently expect the revenue for full year 2006 will fall in the range of US$595 million to US$615 million. The Company currently expects gross margin on a consolidated basis for the fourth quarter of 2006 to be in the range of approximately 26% to 29%, reflecting the change in product mix, pricing pressure from DRAM assembly and LCD driver business and higher depreciation costs related to capacity that was brought online in the second and the third quarters of 2006.

[la-onda]

Executive Summary
Our take: ChipMOS reported solid 3Q revenues and achieved gross margins higher than our
expectations, due to favorable mix and strong demand for DRAM (particularly DDR2) and LCD
driver-ICs. With more prudent capital spending going forward, we expect IMOS to begin to expand
margins and report better cash flow characteristics in the coming quarters. We continue to believe
that the risk/reward balance remains favorable.
• Numbers: ChipMOS reported 3Q revenues and EPS of $160.5mn (up 9% q/q) and $0.24,
respectively, versus our expectations of $158.2mn and $0.24 and consensus of $158.1mn and $0.26.
Testing represented 46% of sales, assembly 23% and LCD driver-IC 20%. Gross margin of 28.2%
was down 31bp sequentially, but 116bp above our estimate.
• Solid demand: IMOS's higher-than-guided 3Q revenues were driven by stronger than demand for
memory test, analog/mixed-signal assembly, and ramping demand in tape carrier package (TCP)/
chip on glass (COG) test and assembly. Management expects 4Q utilization for TCP and COG to
remain north of 90%, largely due to the significant improvement of large-panel TVs.
• More prudent capital expenditure to come: ChipMOS is expected to grow 30% y/y in 2006, by
our estimates, and the company has purchased commensurate levels of equipment to support this
growth. Unfortunately, the high levels of capital expenditures have handicapped its cash flow
generations. IMOS spent $112.4mn in 3Q06, and plans to spend $450–460mn for all of 2006,
ahead of earlier guidance of $350–400mn. The higher capital expenditure is due in part to greater
requirements from its key NOR customer. Management noted that 2007 capital expenditure
spending should be down 30–40% y/y to approximately $250–300mn, which should allow the
company to focus on margin expansion and to generate positive cash flow. In our view, slower
capital expenditure is an attractive alternative as ChipMOS could generate substantial free cash
flow, in our view, should management chart a more moderate growth path.
TECHNOLOGY
Semiconductors: Broadline
OVERWEIGHT

CHIPMOS TECHNOLOGIES (BERMUDA) LTD. (IMOS) Earnings Update
November 6, 2006 Thomas Weisel Partners LLC
• Guidance and estimates: Management guided revenues within a range of $168mn and
$172mn, representing 5% and 7% sequential growth, respectively. Gross margin is expected
within 26–29%, and will be dictated by product mix, utilization, ASP pressures and higher
depreciation expense. The Street was previously at $170.3mn and $0.21. We are modeling
4Q revenue and gross margin of $171.3mn and 28.5%, respectively. We are raising our
2006 revenue estimate from $610.2mn to $613.8mn while maintaining EPS of $1.06. We
are also raising our 2007 revenue estimate from $701.7mn to $714.0mn while maintaining
EPS of $1.20.
Valuation, remain positive on risk/reward: We believe that with shares trading at 5.6x our
2006 EPS estimate, the stock offers favorable risk/reward. We also believe that with shares at
1.1x tangible book value of $5.50 per share, and substantial hard assets (the company has PP&E
of $852.5mn, mostly purchased in the last two years), downside exposure is limited. Our 12-
month price target of $10 is based on 8.3x our 2007 EPS estimate of $1.20. There always are
risks that the target price for any security will not be realized. In addition to general market and
macroeconomic risks, for ChipMOS, these risks include, among other things, business model
execution, competition, and pricing.

[la-onda]

ChipMOS Nov. Sales Surge 40 Percent
Friday December 15, 9:43 am ET
ChipMOS November Sales Surge 40 Percent; Lifts 4Q Sales Outlook

NEW YORK (AP) -- Taiwanese semiconductor testing and assembly service provider ChipMOS Technologies Ltd. said Friday its revenue in November increased 40 percent from last year, and it expects fourth-quarter sales to top previous expectations.

Revenue for the month was $61.5 million, up from $43.9 million last year.

Looking forward, ChipMOS lifted fourth-quarter revenue guidance to $176 million to $181 million, up from a previous estimate of $168 million to $172 million. Fourth-quarter gross margins are now expected to hit 29 percent to 32 percent, up from previous guidance of 26 percent to 29 percent.

Analysts polled by Thomson Financial expected the company to post fourth-quarter sales of $171.7 million.

Shares of ChipMOS rose 34 cents, or 5.6 percent, to $6.36 on the Nasdaq

[la-onda]

fyi:
Taiwan memory packaging and testing houses have mixed capex plans for 2007
Ingrid Lee, Taipei; Carrie Yu, DigiTimes.com [Thursday 14 December 2006]

Taiwan-based memory packaging and testing houses have mixed capital expenditure (capex) plans for 2007, with Powertech Technology Inc (PTI) and Walton Advanced Engineering planning to increase their capex in 2007 while Thailin Semiconductor and United Test Center (UTC) will see flat capex growth and ChipMOS Technologies (Bermuda) expects to lower its capex.

In 2007, PTI is likely to boost its capex from NT$7 billion this year, as its existing client SanDisk will place more orders with PTI for flash packaging and testing while PTI will add a new US-based flash-making client, industry sources said.

Walton said it will double its capex to NT$4 billion next year for capacity expansion of DDR2 packaging and testing. The company will also add 6-7 high-speed testers, Walton added.

More conservative about its investment, Thailin will see its capex for 2007 remain flat from 2006 levels, with planned expenditures mainly used for capacity expansion of its logic testing by 25% and DRAM testing by 15-20%, the company said.

UTC's capex will also remain flat in 2007, with the amount to be used for DDR packaging and testing, the company indicated.

On the other hand, ChipMOS Technologies (Bermuda) will decrease its capex in 2007, and budget will be used to expand its packaging and testing capacity for DRAM and flash memory parts, according to Shou-Kang Chen, company director and CFO.

[la-onda]

stockcharts is back; let´s attach the chart:

[la-onda]

Chipmos Technology "outperform," target price raised

Monday, December 18, 2006 2:40:00 PM ET
Friedman,Billings,Ramsey &Co

NEW YORK, December 18 (newratings.com) - Analysts at Friedman Billings reiterate their "outperform" rating on Chipmos Technology (CHY.FSE).
The target price has been raised from $7 to $8[/color]

[la-onda]

please check carefully updated company information 
part 1:

[la-onda]

part 2 

[la-onda]

Hynix to soon pick back-end partners for China memory plant, reports paper
Commercial Times, December 26; Rodney Chan, DigiTimes.com [Tuesday 26 December 2006]

Hynix Semiconductor will decide by January of 2007 its back-end production partners for its memory plant in Wuxi, China, according to the Chinese-language Commercial Times. Shortlisted packaging and testing houses are United Test and Assembly Center (UTAC), ChipMOS Technologies, EEMS and STATS-ChipPAC, the paper said, adding that Hynix's Wuxi plant started volume production in October 2006.

[la-onda]

Buy ChipMOS On The Cheap
Vad Yazvinski, Marketocracy M100 12.26.06, 4:15 PM ET

Marketing its products primarily in Taiwan and Mainland China, ChipMos Technologies is one of the fastest-growing providers of semiconductor testing and assembly services for liquid crystal display (LCD) and other flat-panel display driver semiconductors, as well as advanced memory products.

For the third quarter of 2006, ChipMOS' test, assembly and LCD driver revenues rose 9%, 17% and 7%, sequentially, to $74 million, $55 million and $32 million, respectively. Test sales were 46% of total revenues, while assembly comprises 34%. The company expects continued strong growth in both the fourth quarter of 2006 and fiscal year 2007 in its key three end markets, DRAM, LCD driver and NOR.

IMOS' sales growth is impressive, and its very healthy utilization rates also add to its appeal. For the quarter, its overall utilization rate was 81%, up from the second quarter's 77%, aided by the nearly full utilization for the company's large panel displays. IMOS expects fourth-quarter overall utilization to continue strong, at approximately 85%.

But even more alluring for investors, shares of ChipMOS are inexpensive based on virtually any valuation metric. They trade at eight times and five times of average 2006 and 2007 analysts' EPS estimates, respectively. More compelling yet, IMOS is trading at about two times expected 2006 and 2007 EV/EBITDA. And its stock price roughly equals its tangible book value, with the market currently assigning zero value to the business franchise itself.

If that were not enough, the Carlyle Group's recent bid for Advanced Semiconductor Engineering represents a very interesting trend: the willingness of private equity to look outside its familiar buyout territory (as well as the lofty prices it is apparently willing to pay) in higher risk/return countries like Taiwan. Carlyle's offer represents an EV/EBITDA multiple of 5.5 times, which is more than double of what IMOS is trading at. That raises interesting possibilities for IMOS.

For instance, a private equity buyer could cut IMOS' capital expenditures (currently negative, due to one large client, but expected to be about $100 million for next year) to $50-$100 million potentially leading to the generation of a very substantial free cash flow of more than $250 million for the next several years.

A private buyer could also float significant debt (up to five times EBITDA of $300 million, or roughly $1.5 billion) compared to the current enterprise value of $800 million (and pay itself dividends well in excess of its likely equity commitments) resulting in healthy returns within a very short period of time.

While the cyclical nature of the industry, complex shareholding structure, and its Bermuda listing could all work against a private sale, they are really non-issues, given the ASX bid, as well as the recent Freescale Semiconductor/Blackstone-led deal. In effect, by simply using ASX multiples as guidance, one can easily justify up to $20 per share price for IMOS. (Five-and-a-half times EBITDA of $300 million, or $1.65 billion, less net debt of $400 million equals roughly $1.2 billion market cap, or a 200% return potential from the price today.)

I say jump onboard and enjoy the ride.
link:

http://www.forbes.com/2006/12/26/chipmos-freescale-marketocracy-pf-guru-in_vy_1226amateurguru_inl.html?partner=yahootix

[la-onda]

bullish article (post before),
news:
NO DAMAGE TO ChipMOS FACILITIES; PRODUCTION REMAINS FULLY ONLINE
FYI - Per below story, an earthquake hit off the shore of Taiwan a few hours ago. As a precautionary measure, ChipMOS evacuated its Tainan facility and stopped production for approximately 15 to 20 minutes during the earthquake. The company's facility was not damaged and full production was quickly brought back online.

=================

   
TheStreet.com, 12/26/2006 9:12 AM EST

Quake Hits Off Taiwan

By TSC Staff

A 3-foot-high tsunami was rolling toward the east coast of the Philippines Tuesday after a large earthquake hit off the shores of Taiwan.
Japan's Meteorological Bureau said there was the "possibility of a destructive local tsunami," according to the Associated Press. The quake comes on the two-year anniversary of a gigantic earthquake off Indonesia that produced a tsunami that ultimately killed more than 200,000 people.
Officials in Taiwan said the earthquake had a magnitude 6.7. The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake was a 7.1. Reports said a magnitude 6.4 aftershock followed the initial quake.
Dow Jones reported that Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM) resumed operations at its local plants and that chip foundry United Microelectronics (UMC) said its factories weren't affected.

chart update 

[la-onda]

Chipmos Technology reports Q4 revs above consensus
Briefing.com - January 16, 2007 8:04 AM ET
Co preannounces Q4 revs of $181.6 mln vs $179.58 mln consensus. Revenue for the month of December 2006 was NT$1,972.3 million or US$60.5 million, a decrease of 1.0% from the month of November 2006 and an increase of 32.8% from the same period in 2005.

[bjc]

I think I'm going to join you la-onda.  There isn't one thing that doesn't look good...