IC packaging specialist Siliconware Precision Industries (SPIL) has reported net profits of NT$240 million (US$8.1 million) for the first quarter of 2018, down 83.9% sequentially and 75.9% on year.

SPIL's net profits for the first quarter of 2018 also hit the lowest levels since first-quarter 2016.

SPIL posted consolidated revenues fell 12.5% sequentially and 3.3% from a year earlier to NT$18.91 billion in the first quarter of 2018, while gross margin slid 4.9pp on quarter and 3.4pp on year to 15.8%.

SPIL attributed the revenue decreases to a slowdown in customer orders, as well as the NT dollar appreciation and falling product ASPs. Growing demand for products requiring high-cost materials also affected negatively the company's gross margin during the quarter.

Bumping and flip-chip packaging accounted for 38% of SPIL's revenues in the first quarter, followed by substrate-based packaging with 29%, leadframe-based packaging with 18% and testing with 15%. Sales from the communications sector contributed 67% of SPIL's revenues in the quarter, followed by those from the consumer electronics sector with 17%, computing with 14% and memory 2%.

SPIL's earnings for the first quarter of 2018 translated into EPS of NT$0.08, compared with NT$0.48 in the fourth quarter and NT$0.32 a year ago.