Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing Ltd. (Chartered Semiconductor), a singapore based company, has revised the guidance for the first quarter of 2009. The company expects revenues to be in the range of $232 million and $244 million for the first quarter of 2009, which is in line with its previous guidance. The company also expects the net loss to be in the range of $122 million and $132 million, an improvement of $20 million, compared to its previous guidance.

On a per share basis, the net loss is estimated to be in the range of $0.49 and $0.53, compared to its anticipated net loss in the range of $0.57 and $0.61.

“For the first quarter, our current outlook for revenues and revenues including our share of SMP is in line with our previous guidance. As the quarter is progressing, our business seems to be stabilizing with wafer starts for second quarter shipments showing increases due to additional orders from customers, compared to our view in January. This is expected to result in lower cost per wafer during the first quarter due to higher production volumes over which fixed costs are allocated. Therefore, we are now expecting our net loss to improve approximately $20 million, compared to our previous guidance. While we are seeing this improvement in customer orders, the macroeconomic environment continues to be challenging and business visibility remains limited,” stated George Thomas, senior vice president and chief finance officer of Chartered Semiconductor.