CHIPMAKERS
Winbond to boost facilities
Memorychip maker Winbond Electronics Corp (華邦電子) said yesterday it would increase this year’s capital expenditure to NT$2.075 billion (US$68.9 million) from NT$1.8 billion and set next year’s spending target at NT$2.54 billion, as it plans to develop an advanced manufacturing process and upgrade its production facilities. Winbond also reported net profit of NT$416 million, or earnings per share of NT$0.1, for last quarter, ending seven consecutive quarters of losses, citing rising shipments of products with a higher profit margin. Consolidated revenue was NT$8.846 billion last quarter, up 15 percent from the previous quarter, while gross margin was 23 percent, an increase from 16 percent in the first quarter, the company said.
CASINGS
Catcher’s net profit soars
Metal casing manufacturer Catcher Technology Co (可成科技) said on Wednesday it posted NT$7.57 billion (US$251.3 million) in net profit for the first half of this year, up 77.6 percent from a year earlier. Its earnings per share for the six-month period stood at NT$10.07, up sharply from the NT$5.67 recorded the previous year. In the second quarter, Catcher’s consolidated sales totaled NT$10.46 billion, up 13.3 percent from the first quarter, while its gross margin hit 44.48 percent, up from 41.72 percent in the first quarter. It posted NT$3.64 billion in net profit for the second quarter, down 7.2 percent from the previous quarter.
Real estate agent and property developer JSL Construction & Development Co (愛山林) led the average compensation rankings among companies listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE) last year, while contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) finished 14th. JSL Construction paid its employees total average compensation of NT$4.78 million (US$159,701), down 13.5 percent from a year earlier, but still ahead of the most profitable listed tech giants, including TSMC, TWSE data showed. Last year, the average compensation (which includes salary, overtime, bonuses and allowances) paid by TSMC rose 21.6 percent to reach about NT$3.33 million, lifting its ranking by 10 notches
Popular vape brands such as Geek Bar might get more expensive in the US — if you can find them at all. Shipments of vapes from China to the US ground to a near halt last month from a year ago, official data showed, hit by US President Donald Trump’s tariffs and a crackdown on unauthorized e-cigarettes in the world’s biggest market for smoking alternatives. That includes Geek Bar, a brand of flavored vapes that is not authorized to sell in the US, but which had been widely available due to porous import controls. One retailer, who asked not to be named, because
SEASONAL WEAKNESS: The combined revenue of the top 10 foundries fell 5.4%, but rush orders and China’s subsidies partially offset slowing demand Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) further solidified its dominance in the global wafer foundry business in the first quarter of this year, remaining far ahead of its closest rival, Samsung Electronics Co, TrendForce Corp (集邦科技) said yesterday. TSMC posted US$25.52 billion in sales in the January-to-March period, down 5 percent from the previous quarter, but its market share rose from 67.1 percent the previous quarter to 67.6 percent, TrendForce said in a report. While smartphone-related wafer shipments declined in the first quarter due to seasonal factors, solid demand for artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing (HPC) devices and urgent TV-related orders
MINERAL DIPLOMACY: The Chinese commerce ministry said it approved applications for the export of rare earths in a move that could help ease US-China trade tensions Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng (何立峰) is today to meet a US delegation for talks in the UK, Beijing announced on Saturday amid a fragile truce in the trade dispute between the two powers. He is to visit the UK from yesterday to Friday at the invitation of the British government, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. He and US representatives are to cochair the first meeting of the US-China economic and trade consultation mechanism, it said. US President Donald Trump on Friday announced that a new round of trade talks with China would start in London beginning today,
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