Chartered ramps 45nm amid bleak outlook

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing Ltd. will ramp its 45nm process technology this fall amid a bleak business outlook for the chip foundry. The Singaporean chip maker released Thursday (July 24) upbeat results of 18 percent sequential revenue growth and 88 percent capacity utilization for its second quarter. But revenue growth will slump to about four percent and utilization will fall to 84 percent in the coming quarter, executives predicted. The company posted a net profit of $43.3 million in its second quarter, due in part to a tax benefit of about the same size. "We expect to post a net loss of approximately $29 million for the third quarter," said George Thomas, senior vice president and chief financial officer of Chartered, in a company statement. The company blamed higher energy costs for... [read full story]