China’s Top Chip Maker Posts Sixth Straight Loss

China’s top chip maker reported its sixth straight quarterly loss Friday, despite stronger sales of chips for a variety of products.

Semiconductor Manufacturing International (SMIC) also lost its title as the world’s third-largest contract chip maker by revenue, based on its first-quarter results. The company’s sales rose sharply to US$351.1 million, up from $248.8 million during the same time last year, but it wasn’t enough to fend off competition from Singaporean rival Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing.

Chartered took back the third-place title in the industry with first-quarter revenue of $355.2 million, knocking SMIC into fourth place.

SMIC trimmed its loss to $8.7 million compared to a loss of $30 million last year. The last time the company reported a net profit was in the third quarter of 2004, when it posted earnings of $39.34 million.

-Dan Nystedt, IDG News Service

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