ELECTRONICS
Quanta, Pegatron post drops
Contract electronics makers Quanta Computer Inc (廣達) and Pegatron Corp (和碩) yesterday both reported annual declines and quarterly drops in revenue for the first quarter of this year. Quanta, the world’s largest contract notebook maker, saw an annual drop of 3.8 percent and a quarterly decline of 28.27 percent in sales to NT$197.36 billion (US$6.09 billion) last quarter. That marks the company’s lowest quarterly sales in the past 10 quarters, according to a company filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange. Pegatron, one of the assemblers for Apple Inc’s iPhone models, fell 6.47 percent annually and 37.73 percent quarterly to NT$256.52 billion in the January-to-March quarter, the filing said.
INTERNET
PChome sees record revenue
PChome Online Inc (網路家庭) reported its highest quarterly revenue performance in the company’s history for last quarter, mainly driven by the rainy weather and the growing cases of influenza that prompted a demand for relevant products, such as dehumidifiers, umbrellas and masks. Revenue of the nation’s largest online store operator jumped 18.3 percent year-on-year to NT$6.77 billion last quarter. On a quarterly basis, PChome’s sales expanded 13.59 percent from the prior quarter’s NT$5.96 billion, the firm said in a filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange.
CHIPMAKERS
Lextar to take orders
Lextar Corp (隆達), which makes upstream LED chips and provides downstream packaging services, yesterday said it would start taking orders to manufacture its newly designed LED headlight products used in automobiles and trains from this month. The high-end LED headlight modules adopt the latest optical lens technology, centralizing the angle of the light to within 3° with only 10 watts of power consumption, the company said.
SMARTPHONES
HTC announces collaboration
HTC Corp (宏達電) yesterday announced that it is working with Northrop Grumman M5 Network Security, an Australian subsidiary of Northrop Grumman Corp, to develop encrypted smartphone solutions for commercial use. A collaboration with Northrop Grumman is still at the early stage and HTC said in a company filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange that it would not comment on the possibility of further development with the firm.
SOLAR CELLS
Neo Solar revenue soars
Solar cell maker Neo Solar Power Corp (新日光能源) yesterday said revenue grew 19.75 percent to NT$2.08 billion last month, from NT$1.74 billion in February. Last quarter, revenue soared 27.55 percent to NT$5.91 billion, compared with NT$4.63 billion in the first quarter last year. The company said it is optimistic about customer demand as the global solar market is expected to grow more than 10 percent to as many as 65 gigawatts this year from 59 gigawatts last year, citing forecasts by unspecific researchers.
COMPUTERS
Synnex revenue grows
Synnex Technology International Corp (聯強), which distributes computers and handsets, yesterday said revenue grew 11 percent annually to NT$28.89 billion last month. During the first quarter, revenue grew 11 percent to NT$78.3 billion, from NT$70.3 billion in the same period last year.
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
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
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 is open to joining a global liquefied natural gas (LNG) program if one is created, but on the condition that countries provide delivery even in a scenario where there is a conflict with China, an energy department official said yesterday. While Taiwan’s priority is to have enough LNG at home, the nation is open to exploring potential strategic reserves in other countries such as Japan or South Korea, Energy Administration Deputy Director-General Chen Chung-hsien (陳崇憲) said. While the LNG market does not have a global reserve for emergencies like that of oil, the concept has been raised a few times —
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