INDUSTRY SLUMP: GlobalWafers chairperson Doris Hsu said that uncertainties and challenges from demand would continue, and that business visibility remains low

Taipei Times
Date: Nov 09, 2019
By: Lisa Wang  /  Staff reporter

GlobalWafers Co (環球晶圓), the world’s No. 3 silicon wafer supplier, on Thursday said that it expects the inventory corrections of its clients to carry over into the second half of next year given sluggish demand for end products and macroeconomic uncertainties stemming from the US-China trade dispute.

To cope with the longer-than-expected industry slump, GlobalWafers said it plans to push back the production of a new fab in South Korea by three or four months, the firm told an investors’ teleconference.

GlobalWafers set the new fab’s production target at 150,000 advanced wafers per month by the end of next year, rather than at the end of the third quarter of next year as previously planned, it said.

The Hsinchu-based wafer supplier said it has encountered unexpected headwinds and challenges from macroeconomic uncertainties, trade tensions and customer inventory adjustments over the past few quarters.    [FULL  STORY]

PEAK SEASON: Net profit more than tripled to NT$228 million from NT$54 million in the second quarter, while revenue growth surpassed the company’s estimate

Taipei Times
Date: Nov 08, 2019
By: Lisa Wang  /  Staff reporter

Touch module and sensor supplier TPK Holding Co (宸鴻) yesterday reported that last quarter’s net profits were the best of the past seven quarters, thanks to strong sales of customers’ lower-priced smartphones during the annual peak season.

Net profit more than tripled to NT$228 million (US$7.5 million) last quarter from NT$54 million in the second quarter, a company financial statement showed.

On an annual basis, net profits increased 19.37 percent from NT$191 million. Earnings per share increased to NT$0.56 last quarter, from NT$0.13 a quarter earlier and NT$0.47 last year.

Revenue soared 40 percent sequentially to NT$40.05 billion, with the fastest growth coming from the company’s smartphone products at 75 percent.    [FULL  STORY]

UN report lists Taiwan as top beneficiary of US-China trade war

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/11/07
By: Keoni Everington, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A report by the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) released on Tuesday (Nov. 5) concludes that Taiwan is the biggest beneficiary of the U.S.-China trade war, inadvertently recognizing Taiwan as a separate country from China while still paying lip service to Beijing.

On Tuesday, the UNCTAD released a report titled "Trade and Trade Diversion Effects of United States Tariffs on China," which decried U.S. tariffs on China as "economically hurting both countries." However, the organization acknowledged that the trade diversion effects have increased imports from nations not directly engaged in the trade war and brought "substantial benefits" to Taiwan, Mexico, and the European Union.

Of the countries listed in the report, Taiwan was singled out as the top beneficiary of the trade diversion effects of U.S. tariffs leveled against China. In the first half of 2019, Taiwan saw an increase of US$4.2 billion (NT$127.8 billion) in exports to the U.S., according to the report.

In terms of industry sectors, the report stated that a high percentage of increased exports to the U.S. came in the form of office machinery and communication equipment. China, which had previously dominated the market in office machinery, saw a drop of US$10 billion during the first half of the year, with Taiwan taking up US$2.8 billion of the US$4.5 billion in trade diversion effects.
[FULL  STORY]

OPTIMISM: The company expects increased shipments of driver ICs for OLED panels and that fast-growing demand for 5G smartphones would stimulate sales of TDDI

Taipei Times
Date: Nov 07, 2019
By: Lisa Wang  /  Staff reporter

Novatek Microelectronics Corp (聯詠), which makes driver ICs for LCD panels, yesterday reported that net profit last quarter declined 4.53 percent sequentially as falling prices cut into margins.

Net income dropped to NT$2.03 billion (US$66.78 million) during the three-month that ended in September, compared with NT$2.56 billion in the second quarter.

However, on an annual basis, net profit grew 10.4 percent from NT$2.27 billion a year earlier.

Revenue climbed to a record NT$16.6 billion in the third quarter, with 68 percent coming from driver ICs and 32 percent from system-on-a-chip (SoC) for TVs and other consumer electronics.
[FULL  STORY]