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.
MULTIFACETED: A task force has analyzed possible scenarios and created responses to assist domestic industries in dealing with US tariffs, the economics minister said The Executive Yuan is tomorrow to announce countermeasures to US President Donald Trump’s planned reciprocal tariffs, although the details of the plan would not be made public until Monday next week, Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) said yesterday. The Cabinet established an economic and trade task force in November last year to deal with US trade and tariff related issues, Kuo told reporters outside the legislature in Taipei. The task force has been analyzing and evaluating all kinds of scenarios to identify suitable responses and determine how best to assist domestic industries in managing the effects of Trump’s tariffs, he
TIGHT-LIPPED: UMC said it had no merger plans at the moment, after Nikkei Asia reported that the firm and GlobalFoundries were considering restarting merger talks United Microelectronics Corp (UMC, 聯電), the world’s No. 4 contract chipmaker, yesterday launched a new US$5 billion 12-inch chip factory in Singapore as part of its latest effort to diversify its manufacturing footprint amid growing geopolitical risks. The new factory, adjacent to UMC’s existing Singapore fab in the Pasir Res Wafer Fab Park, is scheduled to enter volume production next year, utilizing mature 22-nanometer and 28-nanometer process technologies, UMC said in a statement. The company plans to invest US$5 billion during the first phase of the new fab, which would have an installed capacity of 30,000 12-inch wafers per month, it said. The
Taiwan’s official purchasing managers’ index (PMI) last month rose 0.2 percentage points to 54.2, in a second consecutive month of expansion, thanks to front-loading demand intended to avoid potential US tariff hikes, the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER, 中華經濟研究院) said yesterday. While short-term demand appeared robust, uncertainties rose due to US President Donald Trump’s unpredictable trade policy, CIER president Lien Hsien-ming (連賢明) told a news conference in Taipei. Taiwan’s economy this year would be characterized by high-level fluctuations and the volatility would be wilder than most expect, Lien said Demand for electronics, particularly semiconductors, continues to benefit from US technology giants’ effort
‘SWASTICAR’: Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s close association with Donald Trump has prompted opponents to brand him a ‘Nazi’ and resulted in a dramatic drop in sales Demonstrators descended on Tesla Inc dealerships across the US, and in Europe and Canada on Saturday to protest company chief Elon Musk, who has amassed extraordinary power as a top adviser to US President Donald Trump. Waving signs with messages such as “Musk is stealing our money” and “Reclaim our country,” the protests largely took place peacefully following fiery episodes of vandalism on Tesla vehicles, dealerships and other facilities in recent weeks that US officials have denounced as terrorism. Hundreds rallied on Saturday outside the Tesla dealership in Manhattan. Some blasted Musk, the world’s richest man, while others demanded the shuttering of his
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