Silicon Integrated Systems (SiS), VIA Technologies and ULi Electronics – reported slight sequential growth in their July revenues and the vendors expect revenues to continue increasing through the end of the year, as Intel reduces its presence in the entry-level chipset market, according to market sources.

SiS, a chief supplier of entry-level chipsets for the Intel platform, may enjoy revenue growth of more than 30% in the third quarter, whereas VIA and ULi may see growth of more than 20%, the sources expect.

In the first half of this year, SiS posted pre-tax profits of NT$434 million and NT$0.33, rising from losses during the same period of last year. Its gross margins also went from 23.9% in the second quarter of 2004 to 33.4% in the second quarter of this year.

With SiS also facing tight supply of PCIe chipsets for the Intel Pentium 4 platform, VIA has also had an opportunity to expand its market presence, market sources said, adding that VIA just began volume shipments of its Pentium 4-based lineup this year.

VIA will soon introduce a new PCIe-compatible chipset series (PT series) that will be able to fill the gap as Intel drops its 915PL/GL lineup, according to VIA. The PT series is also expected to improve VIA’s ASP (average selling price), the company said.

ULi anticipates shipments of its southbridges (M1573/M1575) bundled with ATI chipsets will climb significantly from August, as the RC410 from ATI Technologies is currently the only chipset comparable to the Intel 915PL/GL series. However, K8-based chipsets will continue to be its major product line and the segment currently accounts for 50% of its revenues, whereas the southbridge segment accounts for only 20%, the company indicated.