Memory chipmakers Nanya Technology Corp (南亞科技) and Macronix International Co (旺宏) reported substantial revenue growth for last month, as demand for game consoles, servers and computers increased amid broader COVID-19 containment measures.
Both firms said that the pandemic did not significantly affect their operations last quarter, as all of their chips are made in Taiwan.
Macronix, which makes memory chips used in Nintendo Co’s Switch and Switch Lite, said that consolidated revenue surged 39.8 percent monthly to a record NT$3.88 billion (US$128.68 million) from NT$2.78 billion in February. On an annual basis, revenue increased 97.6 percent from NT$1.96 billion a year earlier.
The performance brought aggregated revenue in the first quarter to an all-time high of NT$9.42 billion, up 56.2 percent from NT$6.03 billion a year earlier, a company statement said.
Nanya Technology yesterday reported that revenue increased 17.37 percent monthly to NT$5.36 billion — the highest in 16 months. On an annual basis, revenue jumped 44.01 percent from NT$3.72 billion a year earlier.
On a monthly basis, shipments last month expanded by a low-teens percentage from a month earlier, while chip prices increased by a low single-digit percentage, the company said.
First-quarter accumulative revenue reached NT$14.42 billion, a 26.79 percent annual increase from NT$11.37 billion a year earlier and a 9.9 percent quarterly increase from NT$13.12 billion in the fourth quarter of last year, company data showed.
Nanya Technology is scheduled to disclose more financial data and information about the impact of COVID-19 during an online investor’s conference on Friday.
DRAM chip prices this quarter are expected to increase more than 10 percent from last quarter, when prices rose 5 percent from the previous quarter, market researcher TrendForce Corp (集邦科技) forecast in the middle of last month, citing demand fueled by companies replenishing inventories.
However, the third quarter could be a challenge for chipmakers, as a weakening global economy and consumer confidence amid the pandemic might begin to weigh down demand and chip prices, TrendForce said, adding that the uptrend in prices might end in the fourth quarter if demand for laptops, smartphones and servers cools.
TrendForce said that it expects smartphone shipments this year to fall 7.5 percent year-on-year to 1.296 billion units, while laptop shipments are likely to fall 9 percent to 150 million units and server shipments are likely to edge higher by 3.1 percent to 12.9 million units.
‘DECENT RESULTS’: The company said it is confident thanks to an improving world economy and uptakes in new wireless and AI technologies, despite US uncertainty Pegatron Corp (和碩) yesterday said it plans to build a new server manufacturing factory in the US this year to address US President Donald Trump’s new tariff policy. That would be the second server production base for Pegatron in addition to the existing facilities in Taoyuan, the iPhone assembler said. Servers are one of the new businesses Pegatron has explored in recent years to develop a more balanced product lineup. “We aim to provide our services from a location in the vicinity of our customers,” Pegatron president and chief executive officer Gary Cheng (鄭光治) told an online earnings conference yesterday. “We
It was late morning and steam was rising from water tanks atop the colorful, but opaque-windowed, “soapland” sex parlors in a historic Tokyo red-light district. Walking through the narrow streets, camera in hand, was Beniko — a former sex worker who is trying to capture the spirit of the area once known as Yoshiwara through photography. “People often talk about this neighborhood having a ‘bad history,’” said Beniko, who goes by her nickname. “But the truth is that through the years people have lived here, made a life here, sometimes struggled to survive. I want to share that reality.” In its mid-17th to
‘MAKE OR BREAK’: Nvidia shares remain down more than 9 percent, but investors are hoping CEO Jensen Huang’s speech can stave off fears that the sales boom is peaking Shares in Nvidia Corp’s Taiwanese suppliers mostly closed higher yesterday on hopes that the US artificial intelligence (AI) chip designer would showcase next-generation technologies at its annual AI conference slated to open later in the day. The GPU Technology Conference (GTC) in California is to feature developers, engineers, researchers, inventors and information technology professionals, and would focus on AI, computer graphics, data science, machine learning and autonomous machines. The event comes at a make-or-break moment for the firm, as it heads into the next few quarters, with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s (黃仁勳) keynote speech today seen as having the ability to
The battle for artificial intelligence supremacy hinges on microchips, but the semiconductor sector that produces them has a dirty secret: It is a major source of chemicals linked to cancer and other health problems. Global chip sales surged more than 19 percent to about US$628 billion last year, according to the Semiconductor Industry Association, which forecasts double-digit growth again this year. That is adding urgency to reducing the effects of “forever chemicals” — which are also used to make firefighting foam, nonstick pans, raincoats and other everyday items — as are regulators in the US and Europe who are beginning to
RSS