DRAM chipmaker Nanya Technology Corp (南亞科技) expects an uptrend in demand and chip prices to extend into next quarter as telework and remote learning continue to drive purchases of servers and PCs, a company executive said yesterday.
As enterprises and schools sent their employees and students home to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus, people have to use computers to work or to learn remotely and connect to the Internet, Nanya Technology president Lee Pei-ing (李培瑛) told reporters on the sidelines of an annual general meeting in Taoyuan.
“Originally, people expected the second quarter would be a down [season]. Due to telework and online learning, the second quarter is turning out to be a stronger season,” Lee said.
Photo: Hung Yu-fang, Taipei Times
As the penetration rate of PCs remains relatively low and is unlikely to surge overnight, “I believe the [momentum] will last into the third quarter... There is a chance to see a further price uptick,” he said.
Rising data traffic has further spurred demand for faster Internet connections and driven demand for cloud-related equipment and networking devices, Nanya Technology said.
Nanya Technology’s latest comments echoed Micron Technology Inc’s optimism about next quarter. The US company overnight raised its revenue forecast to between US$5.2 billion and US$5.4 billion, from an earlier estimate of between US$4.6 billion and US$5.2 billion.
However, the COVID-19 pandemic and escalating US-China trade friction are creating greater uncertainty in the second half for the global economy, which has depressed demand for smartphones and consumer electronics, Lee said.
Asked about the US limiting Huawei Technologies Co’s (華為) access to chips from non-US suppliers, Lee said that Nanya Technology cannot comment on any single client.
The company would do its best to satisfy customers’ demand, while abiding by the law, he said.
Nanya Technology shareholders yesterday approved a cash dividend distribution of NT$1.5 per common share, representing a yield of 2.46 percent based on the chipmaker’s share price of NT$60.9 in Taipei trading.
The pandemic has not caused a serious delay in equipment delivery and the firm is on track to start initial production using 10-nanometer technology in the second half of this year, Nanya Technology chairman Wu Chia-chau (吳嘉昭) said.
The firm’s second-generation 10-nanometer products would begin pilot production in two years, he said.
The chipmaker this year boosted capital spending to NT$9.2 billion (US$306.21 million) to develop 10-nanometer technology.
Nanya Technology, which holds more than 4,200 patents, has established an 800-engineer research team.
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