TAIWAN - Compeq Manufacturing has revised down its expected first-quarter sales, as demand for PCBs has reportedly been weaker than expected.

The company forecasts a sequential sales decline of 25%, lower than the originally expected 10-15% drop.

According to company sources, handset vendor orders are weak, and any sales rebound will not take place until late April or early May. In addition, sales to Chinese white-box handset customers were also slowed by the snowstorms in late January,.

While current order volume is stable, orders from Nokia are expected to decrease by 10% in the first quarter. Demand from Motorola is down due to that company's struggles with cell phone sales.

In addition to weak sales from handset customers, sources point out a drop in rigid-flex PCB in first quarter orders. Sales for this segment are expected to decline over 40%. The company supplies rigid-flex PCBs for Apple's iPod.