Amkor Posts 1Q Loss, Sees 2Q Beating Street

CHANDLER, Ariz. (AP) — Amkor Technology Inc., which provides chip packaging and testing services, moved to a first-quarter loss Wednesday as a global downturn weakened demand and cut its sales nearly in half.

The performance nevertheless widely beat Wall Street expectations and Amkor issued a better-than-expected forecast for the second quarter. Its shares jumped 49 cents, or 12.1 percent on the news, to $4.55 in aftermarket trading, having closed the regular session at $4.06.

For the three-month period ending March 31, the company lost $22 million or 12 cents per share, compared with a profit of $72 million, or 36 cents per share, the same time last year.

Net sales dropped 44 percent to $388.8 million, from $699.5 million in the first quarter of 2008.

On average, analysts polled by Thomson Reuters were expecting a wider quarterly loss of 28 cents per share on sales of $372.3 million.

The company said it expects to post a loss of 4 cents per share in the second quarter. However, James Kim, Amkor's chairman and chief executive officer, noted in a statement that it is difficult to predict future results given the uncertain direction of the economy.

Wall Street analysts expect a wider loss of 25 cents per share in the second quarter.