Winbond Electronics saw its net profits soar 54% sequentially to NT$1.9 billion (US$62 million) in the third quarter of 2010, bolstered by non-core activities, according to the maker of NOR flash and niche-market DRAM memory. The earnings translated into an EPS of NT$0.52, topping market watcher estimates of around NT$0.50.

Winbond's third-quarter net profits also showed a return to profitability from net losses of NT$983 million in the same quarter of 2009.

Winbond posted operating profits of NT$1.26 billion in the third quarter, down slightly from NT$1.29 billion in the second. Excluding logic IC subsidiary Nuvoton Technology, Winbond generated revenues of NT$8.6 billion in the third quarter, almost flat from the prior quarter's level.

Winbond revealed that third-quarter sales of both specialty DRAM and NOR flash product segments stayed flat on quarter. The former contributed 39% to its overall revenues in the third quarter, while the latter accounted for 28% of revenues. Winbond said that during the third quarter, demand coming from PCs did not follow historical patterns while demand from the LCD TV, networking and set-top box sectors appeared weak.

As for mobile RAM, Winbond said sales generated from the business increased 35% sequentially in the third quarter, buoyed by strong handset demand. The segment contributed 24% to the company's third-quarter revenues, compared to the 18% reached in the second quarter.

Winbond noted it is set to offer a complete portfolio of 65nm pseudo SRAM (PSRAM) products in densities ranging from 32Mb to 256Mb in the fourth quarter.

Looking into the fourth quarter, Winbond said it continues to accelerate production processes and roll out new products amid slow off-season demand. The company expects to begin pilot runs for its in-house developed 46nm DRAM technology in November, and has begun the development of 45nm with 4F2 process technology. In addition, its next-generation 58nm node for flash production is expected to be in mass production in the second half of 2011.