CHIPMAKERS
TSMC to upgrade capacity
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, yesterday said its board of directors approved capital appropriations of roughly US$1.27 billion to upgrade and expand advanced technology chip capacity, as well as to convert certain logic capacity to specialty technology. The funds are also to be used to develop capital investments and sustain capital expenditures for next quarter. The board also approved a donation of NT$30 million (US$991,473) to fund the creation of the TSMC Charity Foundation.
DISPLAY MAKERS
AUO monthly revenue falls
LCD panel maker AU Optronics Corp (AUO, 友達光電) yesterday reported a 10.5 percent monthly decline in revenue for last month to NT$27.78 billion, from NT$31.05 billion in March, as shipments of TV and PC panels fell. The figure represented growth of 7.6 percent from NT$25.82 billion in the same period last year. Shipments of TV and PC panels last month fell 12 percent from 9.84 million in March to 8.66 million units. Separately, Chunghwa Picture Tubes Ltd (中華映管) yesterday said revenue shrank 6.6 percent to NT$2.23 billion last month, compared with March’s NT$2.81 billion. It attributed most of the decline to an 11.4 percent monthly reduction in TV and PC panel shipments. On an annual basis, revenue grew 1.6 percent from NT$2.35 billion, it said.
CHIPMAKERS
Vanguard revenue plummets
Vanguard International Semiconductor Corp (世界先進), which makes controller chips for LCD panels, yesterday said revenue plunged 20.11 percent from NT$2.15 billion in the same period last year to NT$1.71 billion last month, due to fewer wafer shipments. On a monthly basis, revenue sank 28.5 percent from NT$2.4 billion in March. Vanguard blamed the weakness on a strong New Taiwan dollar and weak demand for controller chips for smartphone panels. It forecast a quarterly decline of at most 6.55 percent to NT$5.85 billion for this quarter. Separately, Adata Technology Co (威剛科技), the nation’s biggest memory module maker, yesterday said revenue soared 54.28 percent annually to NT$2.53 billion as supply constraints boosted prices. Adata expects memorychip prices to further trend up in this quarter because of tight supply.
PC MAKERS
Asustek revenue falls 40%
Asustek Computer Inc (華碩) yesterday reported revenue of NT$27.11 billion for last month, its lowest monthly figure since April 2013, which it attributed to the shortening product life of its smartphones and soft demand for PC-related products. The figure represented a 6.85 percent drop annually and 40 percent monthly, a filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange said. The firm’s cumulative revenue in the first four months of this year totaled NT$135.33 billion, an 8.78 percent decline from the same period last year, the filing showed.
PETROCHEMICALS
LCY to spin off rubber unit
LCY Chemical Corp (榮化), which manufactures petrochemical products, yesterday said its board approved a plan to spin off its rubber business. The planned spin-off would give the unit more flexibility to collaborate with other companies, LCY officials said at a news conference. The reorganization project, which is scheduled to take effect on Sept. 1, still needs to be discussed at an annual shareholders’ meeting on June 27. Shareholders’ interests would not be affected by the plan, LCY said.
Taiwan Transport and Storage Corp (TTS, 台灣通運倉儲) yesterday unveiled its first electric tractor unit — manufactured by Volvo Trucks — in a ceremony in Taipei, and said the unit would soon be used to transport cement produced by Taiwan Cement Corp (TCC, 台灣水泥). Both TTS and TCC belong to TCC International Holdings Ltd (台泥國際集團). With the electric tractor unit, the Taipei-based cement firm would become the first in Taiwan to use electric vehicles to transport construction materials. TTS chairman Koo Kung-yi (辜公怡), Volvo Trucks vice president of sales and marketing Johan Selven, TCC president Roman Cheng (程耀輝) and Taikoo Motors Group
Among the rows of vibrators, rubber torsos and leather harnesses at a Chinese sex toys exhibition in Shanghai this weekend, the beginnings of an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven shift in the industry quietly pulsed. China manufactures about 70 percent of the world’s sex toys, most of it the “hardware” on display at the fair — whether that be technicolor tentacled dildos or hyper-realistic personalized silicone dolls. Yet smart toys have been rising in popularity for some time. Many major European and US brands already offer tech-enhanced products that can enable long-distance love, monitor well-being and even bring people one step closer to
RECORD-BREAKING: TSMC’s net profit last quarter beat market expectations by expanding 8.9% and it was the best first-quarter profit in the chipmaker’s history Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), which counts Nvidia Corp as a key customer, yesterday said that artificial intelligence (AI) server chip revenue is set to more than double this year from last year amid rising demand. The chipmaker expects the growth momentum to continue in the next five years with an annual compound growth rate of 50 percent, TSMC chief executive officer C.C. Wei (魏哲家) told investors yesterday. By 2028, AI chips’ contribution to revenue would climb to about 20 percent from a percentage in the low teens, Wei said. “Almost all the AI innovators are working with TSMC to address the
Malaysia’s leader yesterday announced plans to build a massive semiconductor design park, aiming to boost the Southeast Asian nation’s role in the global chip industry. A prominent player in the semiconductor industry for decades, Malaysia accounts for an estimated 13 percent of global back-end manufacturing, according to German tech giant Bosch. Now it wants to go beyond production and emerge as a chip design powerhouse too, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said. “I am pleased to announce the largest IC (integrated circuit) Design Park in Southeast Asia, that will house world-class anchor tenants and collaborate with global companies such as Arm [Holdings PLC],”