CHIPMAKERS
MediaTek plans data center
MediaTek Inc (聯發科), which designs handset chips, yesterday said it plans to begin operating a new facility with a chip design and data center in the middle of next year. The center would help develop artificial intelligence chips and chips supporting high-performance computing and cloud-computing technologies, and would have about 600 installed server cabinets. MediaTek declined to disclose the investment amount, but said the expense was part of the company’s annual research and development budget totaling NT$50 billion (US$1.72 billion). The 10-floor building would provide office space for 1,000 employees, it said.
AUTOMOTIVE
Hota net profit hits NT$1.2bn
Hota Industrial Manufacturing Co (和大工業) yesterday reported a net profit of NT$1.2 billion last year, up 7.2 percent year-on-year, with earnings per share of NT$4.81. The company, which makes gears and shafts for automobiles, attributed the results to a 16.22 percent increase in overall sales to NT$6.72 billion, despite foreign-exchange losses and rising raw material costs. The company’s board has decided to offer shareholders a cash dividend of NT$3.75 per common share, with a payout ratio of 77.9 percent and a yield of 2.78 percent based on yesterday’s closing price of NT$134.5 in Taipei trading.
COMMUNICATIONS
Hitron to cut capital 10%
Hitron Technology Inc (仲琦科技), a supplier of network communications equipment, yesterday announced a 10 percent cut in capital through the cancelation of 24.15 million shares to strengthen its financial structure and enhance shareholder value. The reduction plan would see the company’s capitalization drop by NT$241.49 million to NT$2.17 billion, the company said. If the plan obtains a green light at the annual shareholders’ meeting on June 14 and approval from regulators, the company said it would set a time frame for the program and return NT$1 per share in cash to shareholders. The company said its board also approved the distribution of a NT$1.2 cash dividend per share, based on last year’s earnings per share of NT$1.42.
NETWORKING
Accton revenue rises 24.1%
Accton Technology Corp (智邦科技), a local maker of computer networking equipment such as routers, on Wednesday said earnings per share reached NT$4.68 last year, higher than the previous year’s NT$3.51, with annual revenue of NT$36.45 billion, up 24.1 percent year-on-year and hitting a record level. The company attributed the results to better demand for its 100 gigabit Ethernet switch products and said revenue this year would grow further, driven by open network switch products and software-defined networking devices. Accton said its board has decided to pay a record-high cash dividend of NT$4.1354 per share, representing a payout ratio of 88.36 percent.
COMPUTERS
Gigabyte’s Q4 dips 23.86%
Gigabyte Technology Co (技嘉科技), a maker of motherboards, graphics cards and notebook computers, on Wednesday reported that net profit decreased 23.86 percent to NT$842 million in the fourth quarter of last year from the previous quarter, reflecting slowing graphics card business due to a decline in bitcoin mining. Despite the quarterly decline, net profit for the whole year still rose 21.5 percent to NT$2.79 billion, the highest since 2007, with earnings per share of NT$4.41, the company said.
Intel Corp chief executive officer Lip-Bu Tan (陳立武) is expected to meet with Taiwanese suppliers next month in conjunction with the opening of the Computex Taipei trade show, supply chain sources said on Monday. The visit, the first for Tan to Taiwan since assuming his new post last month, would be aimed at enhancing Intel’s ties with suppliers in Taiwan as he attempts to help turn around the struggling US chipmaker, the sources said. Tan is to hold a banquet to celebrate Intel’s 40-year presence in Taiwan before Computex opens on May 20 and invite dozens of Taiwanese suppliers to exchange views
Application-specific integrated circuit designer Faraday Technology Corp (智原) yesterday said that although revenue this quarter would decline 30 percent from last quarter, it retained its full-year forecast of revenue growth of 100 percent. The company attributed the quarterly drop to a slowdown in customers’ production of chips using Faraday’s advanced packaging technology. The company is still confident about its revenue growth this year, given its strong “design-win” — or the projects it won to help customers design their chips, Faraday president Steve Wang (王國雍) told an online earnings conference. “The design-win this year is better than we expected. We believe we will win
Chizuko Kimura has become the first female sushi chef in the world to win a Michelin star, fulfilling a promise she made to her dying husband to continue his legacy. The 54-year-old Japanese chef regained the Michelin star her late husband, Shunei Kimura, won three years ago for their Sushi Shunei restaurant in Paris. For Shunei Kimura, the star was a dream come true. However, the joy was short-lived. He died from cancer just three months later in June 2022. He was 65. The following year, the restaurant in the heart of Montmartre lost its star rating. Chizuko Kimura insisted that the new star is still down
While China’s leaders use their economic and political might to fight US President Donald Trump’s trade war “to the end,” its army of social media soldiers are embarking on a more humorous campaign online. Trump’s tariff blitz has seen Washington and Beijing impose eye-watering duties on imports from the other, fanning a standoff between the economic superpowers that has sparked global recession fears and sent markets into a tailspin. Trump says his policy is a response to years of being “ripped off” by other countries and aims to bring manufacturing to the US, forcing companies to employ US workers. However, China’s online warriors
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