United Microelectronics Corp (UMC, 聯電), the world’s No. 3 contract chipmaker, yesterday said that its board of directors has approved a plan to pay a cash dividend of NT$1.6 per share this year, up from NT$0.75 last year and the highest in 21 years.
Based on the plan, UMC would pay NT$19.88 billion (US$702.32 million) in cash dividends to shareholders this year.
The payout ratio was about 66 percent, as the company earned NT$2.42 per share last year.
Photo: Grace Hung, Taipei Times
The planned dividend represents a yield of 2.93 percent, based on the stock’s closing price of NT$54.7 yesterday.
The payout plan is subject to shareholders’ approval at the company’s annual general meeting on June 8, UMC said.
The board of directors also approved a capital appropriation plan of NT$6.23 billion, which UMC would use for capacity expansion, the Hsinchu-based chipmaker said, without providing further details.
Last month, UMC told investors that it was raising capital expenditure to US$1.5 billion to expand capacity, as a supply crunch is expected to persist.
Smartphone and work-from-home-related demand remained strong, while a pickup in automotive chips was adding to an already tight supply of chips, it said.
The board approved a plan to raise funds via an issuance of 1.38 billion new common shares.
UMC is seeking a strategic and technological alliance with potential investors at home and abroad through a private placement, the company said.
Separately, Delta Electronics Co (台達電) said that its board of directors approved a plan to pay a cash dividend of NT$5.5 per share this year, a filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange showed.
The planned cash dividend represents a payout ratio of 56.07 percent, based on the company’s earnings per share of NT$9.81 last year.
Delta, the nation’s leading power and thermal solutions provider, last year distributed a cash dividend of NT$5 per share to shareholders.
The proposed payout for this year is subject to shareholders’ approval at the company’s annual general meeting on June 11 in Taoyuan, it said.
Additional reporting by Angelica Oung
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