ASE Technology Holding Co. reported lower fourth-quarter profit as margins contracted, while signaling strong growth ahead in advanced semiconductor packaging driven by artificial intelligence demand.
Net income fell to NT$9.31 billion (US$290 million) in the quarter ended December, down from NT$9.73 billion in Q3 and NT$9.39 billion a year earlier, the Taiwanese chip packaging and testing company said Tuesday. Revenue rose 1% from a year ago to NT$162.3 billion.
The key semiconductor assembly unit saw solid growth, with revenue climbing 7.8% year-over-year to NT$88.4 billion as demand for advanced packaging technology increased. The division’s gross margin improved slightly to 23.3% from 23.1% in Q3.
ASE’s leading-edge advanced packaging and testing revenue more than doubled to over US$600 million in 2024 from US$250 million in 2023. The company expects this high-margin business to grow by another US$1 billion in 2025, highlighting accelerating demand for complex chip packaging needed for AI applications.
However, the electronic manufacturing services (EMS) division saw revenue decline 5.4% year-over-year to NT$74.9 billion, with operating margin dropping to 2.7% from 3.3% in Q3.
Looking ahead, ASE forecasts its semiconductor assembly business will outperform the broader logic chip market in 2025, though it expects a mid-single digit sequential revenue decline in Q1 due to seasonality.
The company boosted capital expenditure to US$1.9 billion in 2024, up from around US$900 million in 2023, as it expands advanced packaging capacity. Net debt-to-equity ratio improved to 0.37 from 0.41 in the previous quarter.
