Amkor's outlook improved as it moves headquarters

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Amid a plan to move its corporate headquarters, Amkor Technology Inc. is seeing a better outlook in its chip packaging and test business.

On Friday (June 3), Amkor announced that the company has moved its corporate headquarters from West Chester, Pa., to Chandler, Ariz.

In May, Amkor reported first quarter sales of $418 million, down 8 percent sequentially and down 10 percent from the first quarter of 2004. The company's first quarter net loss was $119 million, or minus $0.68 per share, and included a provision for legal settlements. For the first quarter of 2004, Amkor's net income was $11 million, or $0.06 per share, and included charges.

At the time, Amkor projected a sequential revenue increase in the range of 10-to-13 percent for Q2. It projected a net loss in the range of 28 cents to 32 cents per diluted share.

Ted Parmigiani, an analyst with Lehman Brothers (New York), projects that Amkor will post a loss of $0.23 per share on sales of $471 million in the second quarter, up 12.8 percent sequentially but down 4.4 percent from the like period a year ago.

"Based on checks with key suppliers and customers, we believe Amkor's factories have been experiencing increasing levels of utilization and mix improvement in Q2," he said in a report.

The company's utilization is roughly 80 percent verses a prior estimate of 75 percent, he said. It is "poised to jump to mid-to-high 80s in Q3 and 90 percent plus in Q4 — making 2H:05 profitability a likely scenario, in our opinion," he said.