Taiwan-based IC design companies have seen their order visibility for September remain unclear, predicting third-quarter sales will grow within a range of 10% sequentially, according to industry sources.
Recent reports of slow sales of high-end smartphones in the global market and downward revisions of 2013 shipment targets by some desktop, notebook and TV brands have driven IC suppliers to become more conservative about the third-quarter, said the sources.
Reflecting the increasingly pessimistic mood, MediaTek and Novatek Microelectronics have both indicated that their sales are likely to grow around 5% sequentially in the third quarter, while Elan Microelectronics has lowered its projected sales growth for the quarter to 10%, from 15% forecast previously.
Other first-tier IC vendors, including Richtek Technology and Realtek Semiconductor, have also set a single-digit growth rate for the third quarter, the sources added.