Analog Devices Inc. (ADI) expects the chip industry to recover in the first half of this year, Vincent Roche, the company's vice president for worldwide sales, said Wednesday.

Roche, who is in Taipei for the opening of a new company office, said Analog Devices expects a more moderate year-on-year drop in its net profit in the fiscal second quarter compared with the first quarter. He didn't elaborate.

For the fiscal first quarter ended Jan. 31, the semiconductor maker's net profit tumbled 93% to US$24.90 million, as sales fell on weak consumer demand.

It said last month it expects second-quarter revenue to decline by 5% to 15% from the first quarter's US$476.6 million.

Analog Devices makes chips used in cellphones, telecom base stations, medical devices and flat-screen TVs.

-By Wei Yi Lim, Dow Jones Newswires; 88622 502-2557; weiyi.lim@dowjones.com