DATA STORAGE
CMC sees shares rise
Shares of CMC Magnetics Corp (中環), which makes recordable CDs, yesterday rose 9.97 percent after it announced a share buyback scheme late on Thursday. CMC is to repurchase shares on the open market from yesterday to Nov. 19 at about NT$5 to NT$10 per share, the company said. CMC said it is to buy back 50 million shares, or as much as 2.74 percent of the total, during the period. Shares of CMC yesterday closed at NT$6.84 in Taipei trading. They have risen 60.94 percent this year, Taiwan Stock Exchange data showed. CMC reported sales of NT$5.698 billion (US$185.5 million) for the first eight months of the year, down 3.84 percent year-on-year.
STOCK MARKETS
FPC surpasses Hon Hai
Formosa Petrochemical Corp (FPC, 台塑石化), the nation’s only publicly traded oil refiner, has replaced contract electronics maker Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) to become the second-largest stock on the local market in terms of market value. The company, one of the four major units of Formosa Plastics Group (台塑集團), which is the nation’s largest industrial conglomerate, yesterday saw its shares rise 5.76 percent to close at NT$147, which gave it a market value of NT$1.4 trillion. Shares of Hon Hai closed at NT$75.8, with a market value of NT$1.31 trillion.
CHIPMAKERS
FocalTech files complaint
FocalTech Systems Co (敦泰電子), a supplier of touchpanel controllers, on Thursday said Novatek Microelectronics Corp (聯詠科技) has infringed on another patent held by FocalTech and the company has requested the Intellectual Property Court in Taipei to grant a preliminary injunction to stop Novatek from manufacturing and selling chips using its technology. The patent is about making a new single chip that integrates display drivers and touch controllers, FocalTech said in a statement. The company said it plans to seek compensation of more than NT$794.36 million, which it announced on Tuesday is what it faces from loss of business.
STEELMAKERS
bHsin Kuang expects growth
Hsin Kuang Steel Co (新光鋼鐵) expects to post higher earnings growth this year as global steel demand remains relatively stable, Hsin Kuang chairman Su Ming-te (粟明德) told an investors’ conference on Thursday. The company would also work to diversify its business to include the production of offshore wind power equipment, Su said. The company reported earnings per share of NT$3.01 in the first half of the year, up from NT$1.71 in the same period last year. Hsin Kuang is investing in steel-bracket welding, which is applied in offshore wind turbine foundations. The company also holds an 11 percent stake in Century Iron & Steel Industrial Co (世紀鋼構), which has received steel orders for use in domestic offshore wind farm development.
AUTO PARTS
Hota shares rise 2.2%
Hota Industrial Manufacturing Co (和大工業), which makes gears and shafts for automobiles, motorcycles and agricultural tractors, yesterday saw its shares rise 2.2 percent on speculation that it is likely to enter the supply chain of Toyota Motor Co’s electric-gasoline hybrid cars next year. Rising orders and growing demand for electric cars have benefited Hota, which reported record sales of NT$4.86 billion in the first eight months of the year, up 8.54 percent from the same period last year.
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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