UMC echoes TSMC with spirited Q2 results

TAIPEI, Taiwan -- Foundry chip manufacturer United Microelectronics Corp. reported revenue for the second quarter of 2003 of NT$21.71 billion (about US$630 million) and a 21.3 percent sequential increase from the first quarter of 2003 and a 16.8 percent year-on-year increase.

The net income for 2Q03 was NT$2.69 billion (about $78.1 million), more than six times larger than the profit in 1Q03 but down on the profit of about $128 million in the same quarter a year before.

Just as the leading foundry Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Ltd. (TSMC) did a few days before UMC found a revival of demand from its fabless customers, and in consumer electronics and computing, was able to drive its sales above previous guidance (see July 24 story).

"Due to new customer wins in the PC segment, we are pleased to report a more than 20 percent growth in revenue and a 255 percent increase in operating income compared with the previous quarter," said Jackson Hu, UMC's recently appointed chief executive officer, in a statement (see July 15 story).

"In the third quarter we expect demand to slow, particularly for handset components, due to high inventory levels caused by the recent SARS outbreak. The slowdown should be short and we are expecting demand to quickly return to normal levels. In the second half of the year we are expecting demand for our 0.13-micron technology to improve and we also expect the economies of scale associated with our 300-mm production facilities to result in reduced costs." Jackson continued.