Breaking ground for a new production facility in Tainan yesterday, solar battery cell maker Neo Solar Power Corp (新日光) said it aimed to become the world’s top maker within the next three to four years. Chairman Quincy Lin (林坤禧) said at the groundbreaking ceremony that the goal would be achievable after the new plant reaches full capacity, the Central News Agency and online news outlet Cnyes.com reported yesterday.
CAPACITY
Costing NT$30 billion (US$938 million), the new facility is expected to commence mass production one year from now, the reports said, citing the company.
The Tainan plant will reach its full capacity of 3.2 gigawatts in the next three to four years. The current plant’s capacity will reach 800 megawatts by the end of the year, and when combined, will raise its overall capacity to 4 gigawatts.
This will allow Neo Solar to seize a 10 percent share of the solar cell business, placing it among the world’s top three makers, the reports quoted Lin as saying.
SURGING ORDERS
Solar cell makers including Neo Solar, Motech Industries Inc (茂迪), Gintech Energy Corp (昱晶) and E-Tone Solar Tech Co (益通) are seeing orders in excess of capacity for the rest of the year.
Orders from Italy, France, the Czech Republic, Spain and Japan are strong and have offset a decline in demand from Germany, analysts said.
To secure its wafer supply, Neo Solar said last week it had clinched a deal with ReneSola Ltd, a Chinese maker of solar wafers and solar modules. The deal calls for ReneSola to supply Neo Solar with approximately 293 MW of multicrystalline wafers from last month to December 2013 and approximately 141 MW of monocrystalline wafers from October to December 2013.
EARNINGS
Neo Solar reported earnings per share of NT$6.15 for the first half of the year, which is the second-highest among Taiwan’s solar-concept stocks and only behind rival Gintech’s NT$6.40.
First-half revenues reached NT$7.49 billion, up 96.1 percent from last year, and after-tax profit totaled NT$1.31 billion, reversing a loss of NT$823 million in the same period last year.
Fubon Research said in a client note on Aug. 17 that Neo Solar’s quarterly sales are expected to grow 28 percent quarter-on-quarter to NT$5.7 billion, given the strong demand for solar cells and a better product mix.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday said its materials management head, Vanessa Lee (李文如), had tendered her resignation for personal reasons. The personnel adjustment takes effect tomorrow, TSMC said in a statement. The latest development came one month after Lee reportedly took leave from the middle of last month. Cliff Hou (侯永清), senior vice president and deputy cochief operating officer, is to concurrently take on the role of head of the materials management division, which has been under his supervision, TSMC said. Lee, who joined TSMC in 2022, was appointed senior director of materials management and
Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) on Thursday met with US President Donald Trump at the White House, days before a planned trip to China by the head of the world’s most valuable chipmaker, people familiar with the matter said. Details of what the two men discussed were not immediately available, and the people familiar with the meeting declined to elaborate on the agenda. Spokespeople for the White House had no immediate comment. Nvidia declined to comment. Nvidia’s CEO has been vocal about the need for US companies to access the world’s largest semiconductor market and is a frequent visitor to China.
MAJOR CONTRIBUTOR: Revenue from AI servers made up more than 50 percent of Wistron’s total server revenue in the second quarter, the company said Wistron Corp (緯創) on Tuesday reported a 135.6 percent year-on-year surge in revenue for last month, driven by strong demand for artificial intelligence (AI) servers, with the momentum expected to extend into the third quarter. Revenue last month reached NT$209.18 billion (US$7.2 billion), a record high for June, bringing second-quarter revenue to NT$551.29 billion, a 129.47 percent annual increase, the company said. Revenue in the first half of the year totaled NT$897.77 billion, up 87.36 percent from a year earlier and also a record high for the period, it said. The company remains cautiously optimistic about AI server shipments in the third quarter,
Hypermarket chain Carrefour Taiwan and upscale supermarket chain Mia C’bon on Saturday announced the suspension of their partnership with Jkopay Co (街口支付), one of Taiwan’s largest digital payment providers, amid a lawsuit involving its parent company. Carrefour and Mia C’bon said they would notify customers once Jkopay services are reinstated. The two retailers joined an array of other firms in suspending their partnerships with Jkopay. On Friday night, popular beverage chain TP Tea (茶湯會) also suspended its use of the platform, urging customers to opt for alternative payment methods. Another drinks brand, Guiji (龜記), on Friday said that it is up to individual
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