DRAM chipmaker Nanya Technology Corp (南亞科技) yesterday posted its weakest net quarterly profit in three-and-a-half years as prices dipped on excess inventory and sluggish demand.
Net profit for last quarter fell almost 84 percent to NT$1.28 billion (US$42.64 million) from NT$7.95 billion a year earlier, or earnings per share of NT$0.42 from NT$2.57.
While shipments last quarter grew more than 45 percent from a year earlier, prices plummeted more than 45 percent, Nanya said.
On a quarterly basis, net profit tumbled 42 percent from NT$2.21 billion.
Nanya said it sees clearer signs of a recovery this quarter as demand is picking up after major global DRAM suppliers reduced their inventories to healthier levels, putting an end to a slump lasting five to six quarters.
“We have seen significant improvement in demand, while supply growth will be limited as major chipmakers budgeted for conservative capital spending last year,” Nanya president Lee Pei-ing (李培瑛) told reporters.
DRAM prices and shipments are likely to rebound mildly this quarter compared with last quarter, which would help boost gross margin from last quarter’s 25.7 percent, Lee said.
Gross margin last quarter fell from 52.9 percent a year ago and 28 percent the previous quarter.
Nanya has a positive outlook for supply-and-demand dynamics this year, as overall DRAM supply is to grow by between 10 and 15 percent year-on-year, which is slower than estimated growth in demand of between 15 and 20 percent, he said.
The increasing demand stems from 5G-enabled and flagship smartphones with more memory, gaming and commercial laptops, cloud-based servers and consumer electronics, such as TVs and routers, he said.
Nanya plans to increase its shipments by 15 percent this year to cope with higher demand and the recovery would fuel revenue growth in each quarter, he added.
Nanya announced that it had finalized its technology road map for 10-nanometer-class technology.
The company said that it is developing its own advanced technology, rather than licensing from long-term partner Micron Technology Inc, to reduce costs.
“We would not have to pay licensing fees and royalties anymore,” Lee said.
The chipmaker is scheduled to start pilot production of its first 10-nanometer-class chips in the second half of this year.
It plans to target 8-gigabyte low-power DDR4 and high-density DDR5 chips used in consumer electronics, smartphones, laptops and PCs.
Nanya expects its capital spending to increase this year, compared with the NT$5.5 billion it spent last year.
Singapore-based ride-hailing and delivery giant Grab Holdings Ltd has applied for regulatory approval to acquire the Taiwan operations of Germany-based Delivery Hero SE's Foodpanda in a deal valued at about US$600 million. Grab submitted the filing to the Fair Trade Commission on Friday last week, with the transaction subject to regulatory review and approval, the company said in a statement yesterday. Its independent governance structure would help foster a healthy and competitive market in Taiwan if the deal is approved, Grab said. Grab, which is listed on the NASDAQ, said in the filing that US-based Uber Technologies Inc holds about 13 percent of
The domestic unit of the Chinese-owned, Dutch-headquartered chipmaker Nexperia BV will soon be able to produce semiconductors locally within China, according to two company sources. Nexperia is at the center of a global tug-of-war over critical semiconductor technology, with a Dutch court in February ordering a probe into alleged mismanagement at the company. The geopolitical tussle has disrupted supply chains, with some carmakers reportedly forced to cut production due to chip shortages. Local production would allow Nexperia’s domestic arm, Nexperia Semiconductors (China) Ltd (安世半導體中國), to bypass restrictions in place since October on the supply of silicon wafers — etched with tiny components to
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday received government approval to deploy its advanced 3-nanometer (3nm) process at its second fab currently under construction in Japan, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said in a news release. The ministry green-lit the plan for the facility in Kumamoto, which is scheduled to start installing equipment and come online in 2028 with a monthly production capacity of 15,000 12-inch wafers, the ministry said. The Department of Investment Review in June 2024 authorized a US$5.26 billion investment for the facility, slated to manufacture 6- to 12nm chips, significantly less advanced than 3nm process. At a meeting with
Taiwan’s food delivery market could undergo a major shift if Singapore-based Grab Holdings Ltd completes its planned acquisition of Delivery Hero SE’s Foodpanda business in Taiwan, industry experts said. Grab on Monday last week announced it would acquire Foodpanda’s Taiwan operations for US$600 million. The deal is expected to be finalized in the second half of this year, with Grab aiming to complete user migration to its platform by the first half of next year. A duopoly between Uber Eats and Foodpanda dominates Taiwan’s delivery market, a structure that has remained intact since the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) blocked Uber Technologies Inc’s
RSS