PANELMAKERS
Innolux, AUO’s sales soar
Innolux Corp (群創) and AU Optronics Corp (AUO, 友達光電), the two largest flat-panel makers in Taiwan, saw their first-quarter sales soar at a double-digit pace from a year earlier on the back of a spike in product prices. Innolux posted NT$86.03 billion (US$2.81 billion) in consolidated sales, jumping 52.5 percent from a year earlier, while AUO recorded NT$88.56 billion, up 24.5 percent from a year earlier. Higher product prices offset the impact of the slow season’s effects in the global panel industry, so Innolux’s three-month sales figure fell only 3.8 percent from a quarter earlier, and AUO’s dropped at a minor pace of 3.6 percent, analysts said.
CHIPMAKERS
US probing Toshiba
The US International Trade Commission has decided to launch an investigation into a case in which memorychip manufacturer Macronix International Co (旺宏電子) accuses Japan’s Toshiba Corp of infringing on its patents related to the production of non-volatile memory devices and products containing the devices. The commission on Thursday said that the products at issue in the case include memory cards, solid-state drives, digital camcorders and car navigation systems, among other consumer electronics. The commission’s investigation is expected to last 15 to 18 months.
E-COMMERCE
Beauty a big seller
Online bookstore Books.com.tw (博客來) on Saturday said its more than 5 million female consumers are increasingly fond of merchandise and books that help them pursue beauty inside and out. The bookstore said it has witnessed a growth in interest in inspirational and empowering books in recent years among female clients.
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
Gudeng Precision Industrial Co (家登精密), the sole extreme ultraviolet pod supplier to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電), yesterday said it has trimmed its revenue growth target for this year as US tariffs are likely to depress customer demand and weigh on the whole supply chain. Gudeng’s remarks came after the US on Monday notified 14 countries, including Japan and South Korea, of new tariff rates that are set to take effect on Aug. 1. Taiwan is still negotiating for a rate lower than the 32 percent “reciprocal” tariffs announced by the US in April, which it later postponed to today. The
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,
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.
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