United Microelectronics Corp (UMC, 聯電), the world’s second-largest contract chipmaker, yesterday posted its strongest monthly sales in two years, a further sign that the chipmaker’s business is rebounding.
UMC also said it was aggressively boosting capacity using advanced 45-nanometer and 40-nanometer technologies at a 12-inch factory in Singapore to match growing demand.
The expansion plan would help the Hsinchu-based chipmaker seize a bigger market share of advanced process technology, a company statement said.
UMC may start seeing sales contribution of about 1 percent from chips on 40-nanometer and 45-nanometer technologies two quarters earlier than expected, Deutsche Securities analyst Michael Chou (周立中) said in a report.
MONTHLY SURGE
UMC’s sales last month surged 18.41 percent year-on-year to NT$9.53 billion (US$297 million), UMC said in a statement, marking the highest level since October 2007, when it made NT$101.27 billion.
UMC accumulated NT$27.41 billion in revenues in the three months ending last month, beating most investor projections, including Citigroup Inc semiconductor analyst Andrew Lu (陸行之). Lu had projected UMC would make NT$27.1 billion.
In the third quarter, revenues rose 11 percent from NT$24.76 billion for 21 percent quarter-on-quarter growth.
The performance was better than UMC’s expectation. UMC chief executive Sun Shih-wei (孫世偉) told investors in July that shipments would rise between 8 percent and 10 percent quarter-on-quarter as consumers began shopping again on improving global economies. Prices would climb at a 5 percent quarterly rate, Sun said.
DOUBLE EARNINGS
Better-than-expected revenues also meant UMC might post its second straight profitable quarter in the third quarter after ending three consecutive quarterly losses in the second quarter.
UMC is expected to more than double its earnings to NT$3.9 billion in the third quarter from NT$1.5 billion in the second quarter, Lu said.
Lu maintained a “sell” rating on UMC on rising risk of the company’s weakening competitiveness amid aggressive pricing and capacity expansion strategies by rivals Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電) and GlobalFoundries next year.
UMC shares plunged 3.14 percent to NT$15.4, under-performing the benchmark TAIEX index, which sank 1.38 percent yesterday.
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