Supply of ultra thin ICs

Chennai Jan. 25 SPEL Semiconductors Ltd has entered into an agreement with the US-based California Micro Devices (CMD) to supply 60 million units a year of ultra thin chips to the US company.

SPEL will put up an exclusive line at its Maraimalainagar plant near here for this purpose. The project will cost $7.7 million (Rs 35 crore).

CMD will provide equipment worth $2.2 million, which will be treated as debt and factored into the product prices, the SPEL Semiconductor's Vice-Chairman, Mr Ar Rm Arun, said at a press conference on Wednesday.

Mr Arun also said that SPEL was considering options to set up chip assembly and testing units abroad.

Q3 net up 65 pc

Meanwhile, SPEL Semiconductor announced that the company had made a net profit of Rs 1.15 crore for the third quarter of the current year — 65 per cent higher than Rs 69 lakh made in the corresponding period last year.

The company's turnover increased to Rs 14.10 crore from Rs 11.36 crore. For the nine-month period ended December, SPEL's turnover was Rs 40.71 crore compared with Rs 37.17 crore in the corresponding period last year. Net profit was Rs 2.84 crore against Rs 4.14 crore, which included a Rs 3.1-crore gain from waiver of interest from settlement of term loans.