In related news, Alpha Networks expects its revenues to record sequential growth in the second half of this year, up 15-25% from the NT$9.91 billion (US$301 million) it posted in the first half, company chairman John Lee said yesterday, at an investor conference.

Sales of the company's Gigabit switches, digital phone products, Gigabit Ethernet-passive optical network (GE-PON) devices and VDSL 2 customer premise equipment (CPE) products are expected to sustain significant growth in the second half, Lee asserted.

However, the company said that its after-tax profits of NT$144 million for the second quarter of this year were down 32% sequentially from the NT$212 million recorded in the first quarter due mainly to rising raw materials costs and price competition in the market.

Alpha Networks' gross margin stood at 13.39% in the second quarter, down from the first quarter's 15.3%, while the company recorded an EPS (earnings per share) of NT$0.43 in the second quarter, as compared to NT$0.64 for the first quarter, the company said.