Solar output surged last year
The nation’s solar energy sector is expected to report an output value of more than NT$150 billion (US$4.7 billion) for last year, topping the NT$124.3 billion from the year before on the back of rising global demand, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said.
In the first 10 months of last year, solar energy manufacturers’ output totaled NT$131.8 billion, surpassing the output recorded for all of 2013, the ministry said. The 10-month figure represented a 33.2 percent year-on-year increase.
The ministry said that more than 82 percent of Taiwan’s solar products were sold overseas in the first 10 months of last year, with China the biggest buyer, followed by Japan and Germany.
Everlight sees small sales slip
Everlight Electronics Co (億光電子), the nation’s top LED chip packager, on Thursday posted consolidated sales of NT$8.2 billion for the past quarter, down 4 percent from the previous quarter, but up 21 percent from a year earlier.
Analysts said that the quarterly decline reflected quarter-end inventory adjustments throughout the supply chain, as well as weakening demand for backlight LEDs.
Everlight will resume sales growth momentum in March, as TV vendors start to restock components ahead of new model launches early in the second quarter, Primasia said.
Wafer unit drives SAS surge
Solar wafer maker Sino-American Silicon Products Inc (SAS, 中美晶) on Friday reported record-high revenue of NT$27.88 billion for last year, up 25.5 percent year-on-year, largely on the back of the contribution from subsidiary GlobalWafers Co (環球晶圓), a semiconductor foundry that mainly manufactures silicon-based semiconductors. It reported sales of NT$15.98 billion last year, accounting for 60 percent of SAS’ total revenue, according to a Taiwan Stock Exchange filing.
SAS said its solar business also improved last year, with sales surging 80 percent annually to NT$11.9 billion. It plans to spend more than NT$4 billion in expanding its solar and semiconductor manufacturing capacities this year, it said.
Chipbond might slip: analysts
Chipbond Technology Corp (頎邦), a driver integrated circuit (IC) packaging and testing-service provider, might see sales for this quarter drop by between 5 and 10 percent from last quarter due to seasonal factors, analysts said.
However, the company could receive contributions this year from its driver IC business and non-driver IC businesses, they said.
Last quarter, Chipbond posted NT$4.5 billion in consolidated sales, down 4 percent from the previous quarter. The figure hit the company’s second-highest, pushing last year’s sales to NT$17.68 billion, up 11.84 percent from 2013 and the highest in its history.
Wowprime sales hit record
Restaurant chain operator Wowprime Corp (王品集團) on Friday last week reported that last year’s sales hit a record level, boosted by a revenue surge in China.
Total sales reached NT$16.92 billion last year, up 13.6 percent year-on-year, with domestic operations rising 4.81 percent annually to NT$11.61 billion, while China operations jumped 39.16 percent to NT$5.31 billion, the company said in a statement.
Meanwhile, the Tai Tong Food & Beverage Group (瓦城泰統集團) on Thursday said its consolidated sales for the final quarter of last year rose 19.1 percent year-on-year to NT$705 million, boosting annual sales by 25.92 percent year-on-year to NT$2.91 billion.
Kinsus outlook challenged
Silicon substrate maker Kinsus Interconnect Technology Corp (景碩科技) saw total revenue rise 7.97 percent last year to hit a record level of NT$24.943 billion from 2013, but the firm might face more loss of market share this year and next year after reporting weaker-than-expected sales in the past quarter, Deutsche Bank said in a note on Tuesday last week.
The company’s sales dropped 16 percent quarter-on-quarter to NT$5.63 billion during the October-to-December quarter last year, which Deutsche Bank attributed to diminished orders for non-Apple smartphone-related IC substrates and Kinsus’ market share loss to MediaTek Inc (聯發科) and US fabless companies.
For this quarter, the company’s sales might inch downward 3 percent from last quarter, compared with the consensus estimate of a 6 percent quarterly decline, Deutsche Bank predicted.
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Taipei is today suspending its US$2.5 trillion stock market as Super Typhoon Krathon approaches Taiwan with strong winds and heavy rain. The nation is not conducting securities, currency or fixed-income trading, statements from its stock and currency exchanges said. Yesterday, schools and offices were closed in several cities and counties in southern and eastern Taiwan, including in the key industrial port city of Kaohsiung. Taiwan, which started canceling flights, ship sailings and some train services earlier this week, has wind and rain advisories in place for much of the island. It regularly experiences typhoons, and in July shut offices and schools as
An Indian factory producing iPhone components resumed work yesterday after a fire that halted production — the third blaze to disrupt Apple Inc’s local supply chain since the start of last year. Local industrial behemoth Tata Group’s plant in Tamil Nadu, which was shut down by the unexplained fire on Saturday, is a key linchpin of Apple’s nascent supply chain in the country. A spokesperson for subsidiary Tata Electronics Pvt yesterday said that the company would restart work in “many areas of the facility today.” “We’ve been working diligently since Saturday to support our team and to identify the cause of the fire,”
TECH PARTNERSHIP: The deal with Arizona-based Amkor would provide TSMC with advanced packing and test capacities, a requirement to serve US customers Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) is collaborating with Amkor Technology Inc to provide local advanced packaging and test capacities in Arizona to address customer requirements for geographical flexibility in chip manufacturing. As part of the agreement, TSMC, the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, would contract turnkey advanced packaging and test services from Amkor at their planned facility in Peoria, Arizona, a joint statement released yesterday said. TSMC would leverage these services to support its customers, particularly those using TSMC’s advanced wafer fabrication facilities in Phoenix, Arizona, it said. The companies would jointly define the specific packaging technologies, such as TSMC’s Integrated
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