CHIPMAKERS
MediaTek plans data center
MediaTek Inc (聯發科), which designs handset chips, yesterday said it plans to begin operating a new facility with a chip design and data center in the middle of next year. The center would help develop artificial intelligence chips and chips supporting high-performance computing and cloud-computing technologies, and would have about 600 installed server cabinets. MediaTek declined to disclose the investment amount, but said the expense was part of the company’s annual research and development budget totaling NT$50 billion (US$1.72 billion). The 10-floor building would provide office space for 1,000 employees, it said.
AUTOMOTIVE
Hota net profit hits NT$1.2bn
Hota Industrial Manufacturing Co (和大工業) yesterday reported a net profit of NT$1.2 billion last year, up 7.2 percent year-on-year, with earnings per share of NT$4.81. The company, which makes gears and shafts for automobiles, attributed the results to a 16.22 percent increase in overall sales to NT$6.72 billion, despite foreign-exchange losses and rising raw material costs. The company’s board has decided to offer shareholders a cash dividend of NT$3.75 per common share, with a payout ratio of 77.9 percent and a yield of 2.78 percent based on yesterday’s closing price of NT$134.5 in Taipei trading.
COMMUNICATIONS
Hitron to cut capital 10%
Hitron Technology Inc (仲琦科技), a supplier of network communications equipment, yesterday announced a 10 percent cut in capital through the cancelation of 24.15 million shares to strengthen its financial structure and enhance shareholder value. The reduction plan would see the company’s capitalization drop by NT$241.49 million to NT$2.17 billion, the company said. If the plan obtains a green light at the annual shareholders’ meeting on June 14 and approval from regulators, the company said it would set a time frame for the program and return NT$1 per share in cash to shareholders. The company said its board also approved the distribution of a NT$1.2 cash dividend per share, based on last year’s earnings per share of NT$1.42.
NETWORKING
Accton revenue rises 24.1%
Accton Technology Corp (智邦科技), a local maker of computer networking equipment such as routers, on Wednesday said earnings per share reached NT$4.68 last year, higher than the previous year’s NT$3.51, with annual revenue of NT$36.45 billion, up 24.1 percent year-on-year and hitting a record level. The company attributed the results to better demand for its 100 gigabit Ethernet switch products and said revenue this year would grow further, driven by open network switch products and software-defined networking devices. Accton said its board has decided to pay a record-high cash dividend of NT$4.1354 per share, representing a payout ratio of 88.36 percent.
COMPUTERS
Gigabyte’s Q4 dips 23.86%
Gigabyte Technology Co (技嘉科技), a maker of motherboards, graphics cards and notebook computers, on Wednesday reported that net profit decreased 23.86 percent to NT$842 million in the fourth quarter of last year from the previous quarter, reflecting slowing graphics card business due to a decline in bitcoin mining. Despite the quarterly decline, net profit for the whole year still rose 21.5 percent to NT$2.79 billion, the highest since 2007, with earnings per share of NT$4.41, the company said.
BUSINESS UPDATE: The iPhone assembler said operations outlook is expected to show quarter-on-quarter and year-on-year growth for the second quarter Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) yesterday reported strong growth in sales last month, potentially raising expectations for iPhone sales while artificial intelligence (AI)-related business booms. The company, which assembles the majority of Apple Inc’s smartphones, reported a 19.03 percent rise in monthly sales to NT$510.9 billion (US$15.78 billion), from NT$429.22 billion in the same period last year. On a monthly basis, sales rose 14.16 percent, it said. The company in a statement said that last month’s revenue was a record-breaking April performance. Hon Hai, known also as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), assembles most iPhones, but the company is diversifying its business to
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: The chipmaker last month raised its capital spending by 28 percent for this year to NT$32 billion from a previous estimate of NT$25 billion Contract chipmaker Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp (力積電子) yesterday launched a new 12-inch fab, tapping into advanced chip-on-wafer-on-substrate (CoWoS) packaging technology to support rising demand for artificial intelligence (AI) devices. Powerchip is to offer interposers, one of three parts in CoWoS packaging technology, with shipments scheduled for the second half of this year, Powerchip chairman Frank Huang (黃崇仁) told reporters on the sidelines of a fab inauguration ceremony in the Tongluo Science Park (銅鑼科學園區) in Miaoli County yesterday. “We are working with customers to supply CoWoS-related business, utilizing part of this new fab’s capacity,” Huang said, adding that Powerchip intended to bridge
Qualcomm Inc, the world’s biggest seller of smartphone processors, gave an upbeat forecast for sales and profit in the current period, suggesting demand for handsets is increasing after a two-year slump. Revenue in the three months ended in June will be US$8.8 billion to US$9.6 billion, the company said in a statement Wednesday. Excluding certain items, earnings will be US$2.15 to US$2.35 a share. Analysts had projected sales of US$9.08 billion and earnings of US$2.16 a share. The outlook signals that the smartphone market has begun to bounce back, tracking with Qualcomm’s forecast that demand would gradually recover this year. The San
Clambering hand-over-hand, sweat dripping into his eyes, a durian laborer expertly slices a cumbersome fruit from a tree before tossing it down to land with a soft thump in his colleague’s waiting arms about 15m below. Among Thailand’s most famous and lucrative exports, the pungent “king of fruits” is as distinctive in its smell as its spiky green-brown carapace, and has been farmed in the kingdom for hundreds of years. However, a vicious heat wave engulfing Southeast Asia has resulted in smaller yields and spiraling costs, with growers and sellers increasingly panicked as global warming damages the industry. “This year is a crisis,”