AMEC posts net profit jump of 161% in 2020

Shanghai-based AMEC, the largest semiconductor equipment vendor on the Chinese mainland, reported a 161-percent jump in net profit last year thanks to investment returns and booming chip demands, the STAR-listed firm said on Thursday.

AMEC’s revenue last year gained 16.8 percent to 2.27 billion yuan (US$349.2 million) while net profit surged to 492 million yuan.

It was in the middle of the company’s previous expectations, which had forecast its net profit hitting 440 to 520 million yuan.

AMEC offers core equipment for chip makers such as SMIC, the top chipmaker on the Chinese mainland.

Among the net profit total, AMEC earned 262 million yuan for holding shares in SMIC, which listed in the Shanghai STAR Market last year. SMIC is now the STAR Market’s No. 1 firm by market value.

Shanghai plans to double the value of the local integrated circuit industry by 2025, which boost the whole industry, especially local firms such as AMEC, SMIC and National Silicon.

But AMEC also faces an uncertain business environment.

SMIC, its major client, was added in the US Entity List last year, which affected its sales and capacity, and further influenced sales of AMEC’s equipment.