UMC's May sales show signs of weakness

LONDON – Sales at foundry chip supplier United Microelectronics Corp. (Hsinchu, Taiwan) in May were lower than expected and lower than the same month a year before.

One possibility is that disruption to the electronic component supply chain, as a result of the Japanese earthquake of March 11, is suppressing demand more broadly causing orders to be pushed back.

UMC's sales were NT$9,400 million (about $327 million) in May, down 1.7 percent compared with sales of NT$9,564 million (about $333 million) in April and down 6.8 percent compared with sales in May 2010.

The year-to-date sales growth comparison with the previous year now stands at 2.1 percent. This is after the year opened with January's sales 10.75 percent ahead of sales in January 2010.

On average over the last decade UMC has posted a 3.4 percent growth in revenue in May compared with April.

Rival foundry Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. (TSMC) is expected to post its May sales figures on Thursday. Over the last decade TSMC has, on average, posted a 5 or 6 percent sequential growth in May over the previous month's sales, although it has been as high as 13.7 percent and as low as a 7.4 percent contraction.


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