Mobile SoC supplier MediaTek expects to post a revenue decline of 4-12% sequentially in the fourth quarter of 2018, with about flat growth in gross margin.

MediaTek estimated fourth-quarter revenues at between NT$59 billion (US$1.91 billion) and NT$64 billion, with gross margin ranging from 37% to 40%.

MediaTek will maintain its mobile SoC shipments at between 100-110 million units in the fourth quarter, said company CEO Rick Tsai. MediaTek's mobile SoC products consist of solutions for mobile phones and tablets.

However, MediaTek's other product lines such as SoC solutions for TVs, IoT and automotive electronics applications will register a seasonal decrease in sales during the fourth quarter, Tsai indicated.

Tsai expressed optimism about the competitiveness of MediaTek's mobile SoC solutions next year. The company continues to expand its AI-capable SoC lineup to include the Helio PP70 series that has been launched recently.

In addition, MediaTek plans to roll out its 5G modem chip in the first half of 2019, Tsai noted. Dubbed Helio P70, it will be manufactured using TSMC's 7nm process incorporating EUV technology, the fabless chipmaker disclosed previously.

MediaTek will also kick off volume production of its 7nm ASIC products in the first half of 2019, according to Tsai. Earlier in 2018, MediaTek announced its 56-gigabit PAM4 SerDes silicon IP with silicon-proven 7nm FinFET process technology.

MediaTek reported net profits of NT$6.87 billion for the third quarter of 2018, down 8.3% sequentially but up 35.8% on year. EPS for the quarter came to NT$4.39.

MediaTek posted revenues increased 10.8% sequentially and 5.3% from a year earlier to NT$67.03 billion in the third quarter of 2018, while gross margin grew 0.3pp on quarter and 2.1pp on year to 38.5%.

MediaTek's revenues for the first three quarters of 2018 combined slipped 0.4% from a year ago to NT$177.17 billion, while gross margin climbed 3.4pp on year to 38.4%. The company generated net profits of NT$17.03 billion during the nine-month period, up 22.4% from the same period in 2017, with EPS reaching NT$10.84.