Materials Analysis Technology Inc (MA-tek, 閎康) yesterday said it plans to build a new laboratory in Hokkaido, Japan, to satisfy customers’ growing demand amid the Japanese government’s push for a semiconductor manufacturing revival.
The laboratory would be the third lab operated by Materials Analysis Technology in Japan.
It also has labs in Kumamoto and Nagoya.
Photo: CNA
Capacity expansions are also planned for the existing fabs to meet customer demand, the company said.
The expansions in Japan aim “to grasp business opportunities deriving from Japan’s semiconductor revival plan and to assist customers to step up research-and-development,” Materials Analysis said in a statement.
The company has been considering setting up a new lab in the northern area of Japan since September last year after Rapidus Corp, a chipmaker backed by the Japanese government, held a groundbreaking ceremony for its first chip manufacturing factory in Chitose, Hokkaido.
The Japanese semiconductor start-up plans to start a pilot production line at the fab in April next year before beginning volume production of 2-nanometer chips in 2027.
In China, Materials Analysis also plans to build its new lab in Suzhou, the fourth in the country, catering to increasing Chinese customers’ demand for chip analysis for third-generation semiconductors that use materials such as gallium nitride or silicon carbide to replace silicon.
Beijing’s push for semiconductor self-sufficiency also drove up demand, the company said.
Materials Analysis Technology said it is seriously evaluating whether to build more labs in Europe or the US, following the steps of its key customers to provide efficient and local services.
Materials Analysis Technology counts chipmakers and foundry companies as its main customers, including Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), Intel Corp and Advanced Micro Devices Inc, providing material and chip reliability analysis.
TSMC plans to construct a new chip plant in Dresden, Germany, in the fourth quarter of this year together with its partners.
The company said it would capitalize on global footprint expansions to drive next-wave growth, as semiconductor manufacturing is becoming increasingly localized due to national security concerns and geopolitical tensions.
At home, Materials Analysis Technology would concentrate on providing analysis services for advanced process technologies and advanced chip packaging technologies.
The company raised its capital expenditures for this year by 17 percent to between NT$1.2 billion and NT$1.4 billion (US$37.1 million and US$43.3 million), compared with NT$1.2 billion spent last year.
About half of the investment would be earmarked for its expansion in Taiwan.
With the new capacity expansions worldwide, Materials Analysis said it expects net profits to grow this year.
Last year, net profits rose 9.38 percent year-over-year to NT$686.21 million from NT$627.37 million the previous year, setting an all-time high. That translated into earrings of NT$10.81, up from NT$10.12 a year ago.
The company’s shareholders yesterday approved the distribution of a record-high cash dividend of NT$9 per common share. That represented a payout ratio of about 83 percent.
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