MediaTek expects to post revenue growth of 2-10% sequentially in the third quarter of 2017, with gross margin ranging from 34% to 37%.

Chip demand for smartphones has not seen a substantial rise on seasonal factors, said MediaTek's co-CEO Rick Tsai at a July 31 investors meeting. MediaTek's combined shipments for smartphones and tablets will be between 110 million units and 120 million in the third quarter, nearly the levels reached in the second quarter, Tsai indicated.

Based on the exchange rate of NT$30.30 against US$1, MediaTek's revenues for the third quarter of 2017 are forecast to be between NT$59.2 billion and NT$63.9 billion, Tsai said. The estimate will represent a 2-10% sequential increase.

MediaTek's gross margin will be between 34% and 37% in the third quarter, according to Tsai. Gross margin grew to 35% in the second quarter from 33.5% in the first. Improving MediaTek's gross margin and regaining its share of the smartphone-chip market will be the company's ultimate target, said Tsai.

The Helio P-series smartphone SoCs will be a major product focus of MediaTek, Tsai noted. The company plans to roll out two new Helio P-series solutions later in 2017, and another two in 2018, Tsai disclosed. MediaTek expects to start regaining its market share in the fourth quarter, with better development expected in 2018.

Tsai indicated 12nm will be the main process technology MediaTek's mobile chips will be made using during the first half of 2018. Besides, MediaTek will complete tape-out of 7nm products in the second half of 2018, Tsai said.

In addition, sales of MediaTek's SoC product lines for emerging IoT and car electronics applications, such as tracking devices for bicycles, have grown substantially to account for 25-30% of the company's total revenues, Tsai noted.

MediaTek will be striving to improve its gross margin by 1-2pp every quarter over the next 2-3 quarters, said Tsai, adding that the gross margins are expected to return to the 37-39% level as early as the second half of 2018. The company's gross margin slid to a record low of 33.5% in the first quarter of 2017.