"...Both Ritek Corp. and CMC Magnetics Corp. estimate their June revenues will reach their highest levels since the start of this year. The two companies combined account for around 60 percent of global compact disc supplies. Ritek estimates its June revenue to top at least NT$2.05 billion (US$60.29 million at US$1 = NT$34), while CMC estimates its June revenue to be more than NT$1.6 billion (US$47.05 million). The two companies' hefty revenues in the second quarter are particularly impressive, as most of Taiwan's information-technology manufacturers have had to draw in their belts. Ritek and CMC expect to report further record monthly highs in the second half.

Ritek and CMC, which have both recently signed agreements to pay royalties to patent holders, attribute their hefty sales to the soaring prices of recordable compact discs (CD-Rs). So far, the CD-Rs have soared to US$0.26 to US$0.28 apiece from US$0.24, and prices are expected to surge to around US$0.3 next quarter.

Ritek reports that its first-half revenues amounted to 110 percent of its target, and it is advancing toward its full-year goal of NT$25 billion (US$735.29 million) at full speed. The company's executives forecast that the value of the global CD-R market this year will be up 75 percent from last year, and the orders the company has received will keep its production lines humming until the end of this year. Ritek executives estimate that the company's net profits in the third and fourth quarters will be fatter than in the second quarter.

CMC executives point out that the company's net margin of CD-R sales should rebound back to 40 percent in the fourth quarter, after falling last year. They say the company has equipped itself with an enterprise resource planning system in order to enhance corporate competitiveness. The company predicts that it will earn NT$1.77 per share this year, compared with Ritek's NT$3..." NULL