Advantest, a leading provider of chip testing equipment, revealed its optimistic outlook on Wednesday, anticipating a surge in demand for memory testers driven by the growing need for artificial intelligence (AI) applications. However, the company reported a setback due to sluggish sales in the electronics sector.
The company projects sales of memory testers to reach 244 billion yen ($1.65 billion) by the end of the financial year in March, marking a 5 billion yen increase from its previous forecast in October. Despite this upward revision, it represents a 25% decline compared to the same period last year.
Yoshiaki Yoshida, CEO of Advantest, emphasized the need for further efforts to meet the increasing demand in the market during an earnings briefing.
Advantest expects the overall memory tester market to expand to approximately $1.3 billion-$1.6 billion this year, compared to around $1.1 billion last year.
However, the company’s operating profit faced a significant decline of 35%, totaling 26.8 billion yen in the October-December quarter. This downturn was attributed to weak consumer demand for smartphones and PCs, which negatively impacted sales.
In the third quarter, approximately 34% of Advantest’s sales were in China, reflecting the country’s rapid expansion in chip manufacturing capacity amid tensions with the United States. This percentage was lower compared to 45% in the same period the previous year.
Despite these challenges, Advantest’s shares closed marginally down by 0.5% ahead of its earnings announcement. Nevertheless, the company has seen a 20% increase in its share value since the beginning of the year, outperforming its peers such as Tokyo Electron and Lasertec.
Advantest’s positive outlook on memory demand for AI applications highlights the company’s strategic position in the semiconductor industry, despite current market headwinds.
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