Winbond Electronics earned net profits of NT$30 million (US$1.03 million) in the fourth quarter of 2010, down significantly from NT$1.9 billion in the prior quarter. Revenues slid 10% sequentially to NT$7.74 billion in the fourth quarter, according to data released by the company.

Winbond had warned that fourth-quarter net profits would be lower than those posted in the third quarter, citing product ASP falls.

Winbond revealed that its sales ratio between specialty DRAM (SDRAM), mobile RAM, NOR flash and others was 35:29:27:9 in the fourth quarter. Sales of mobile RAM outperformed the other segments in the fourth quarter, driven by strong handset demand, the company said.

Sales of SDRAM, NOR flash and other chips saw sequential declines on falling prices and seasonality in the fourth quarter, Winbond indicated.

Despite weak fourth-quarter results, Winbond's revenues for all of 2010 climbed 63% to NT$31.855 billion. Winbond also swung to net profits of NT$3.55 billion in 2010, after three years of losses.

Looking forward, Winbond said it will remain focused on stable partnerships with first-tier clients through upgrading its production processes and improving its product mix.

Winbond is migrating to 65nm process technology for its mobile RAM products with plans to shift to a 46nm node. As for SDRAM, capacity will all be converted to 46nm process in the second half of 2011. Meanwhile, the company is set to begin mass production of NOR flash using 58nm in the second half.

Winbond shares closed up 2.4% at NT$10.80 on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TSE) on January 28.