July revenue jumped from June and from a year ago
Memory IC design firm Elite Semiconductor Memory Technology Inc. (ESMT, 3006) posted July revenue of NT$6.785 billion. That was 40.02% higher than NT$4.845 billion in June, and 491.06% above NT$1.148 billion in the same month last year. Revenue for the first seven months reached NT$27.998 billion, compared with NT$7.339 billion a year earlier, a gain of 281.48%.
According to the company’s monthly revenue filing on Taiwan’s Market Observation Post System, the note said: "The increase in revenue this period compared with the previous period was due to product market supply and demand factors." And that was it. The company gave no other explanation in the filing.
ESMT sells DRAM, SRAM and flash memory, operating in the memory IC design business. The report also said August revenue was not yet listed in the Taiwan Stock Exchange monthly revenue database, which is usually refreshed around the 10th of the following month.
Subsidiary Cheng Feng Investment disclosed a share purchase on Sept. 7
On the afternoon of Sept. 7, ESMT filed on behalf of subsidiary Cheng Feng Investment to announce a securities acquisition. The target was ESMT common stock. The deal date was Sept. 7, covering 1,082,941 shares at an average price of NT$301 per share, for a total transaction value of NT$326 million.
The filing said the chairman approved the transaction on Sept. 7. After the purchase, the cumulative shareholding ratio was 0.36%.
Purchase price sat near the 52-week high zone
The average purchase price of NT$301 was close to ESMT’s recent highs. The stock closed at NT$297 on Sept. 7. Then on Sept. 8, it traded up to NT$306 and down to NT$291.5 before finishing at NT$298.5.
Over the past 52 weeks, the trading range ran from NT$59.4 to NT$309.5. The NT$309.5 high was hit on Sept. 3. So yes, on that basis, the subsidiary bought shares near the top of the 52-week range, not down at cheaper levels.
Report pointed to industry backdrop
The report also cited an earlier Chain News story that said South Korean media had reported memory inventories at Samsung and SK Hynix had dropped to less than 10 days. It framed tight memory supply and demand as the shared backdrop for related stocks during this stretch.