Shares of the nation's top solar cell makers dropped yesterday after industry watchers issued a caution on the industry's outlook because of a shortage of materials.
Shares of Motech Industries Inc (
"Solar-related companies may see further declines in margins, dragged down by material shortages, despite increased demand for solar energy," JP Morgan analyst Gokul Hariharan said in a report on Friday.
Most solar component makers, excluding material suppliers, saw declining margins in the first quarter, because of the supply scarcity in silicon wafers and more Chinese firms competing in the field, the analyst said.
Motech's profit margins declined to 24.4 percent in the first quarter, down 7.3 percentage points from the earlier three months. It saw sales rise 240 percent from a year earlier to NT$4.5 billion for the first four months.
E-ton's margins also dropped to 16.3 percent in the first quarter from 24.3 percent in the earlier three months. Its revenues, meanwhile, grew 99 percent to NT$1.5 billion in the first four months.
E-ton was fast to dismiss any material shortages by announcing it had sealed a 10-year supply deal yesterday.
Under the pact, the supplier will provide E-ton with 350 megawatts' worth of silicon wafers through the next 10 years, E-ton said in a filing to the Taiwan Stock Exchange, without specifying the partner or the price.
SinoPac Securities Corp (建華證券) recently said they expect to see a slight easing of the supply shortage.
"With the increase in production capacity and an easing of the supply problem, solar-related companies should see stronger sales momentum this month," SinoPac said in a research note last week.
Motech said on May 9 it had won a new sales deal.
It has signed a contract with Open Energy to supply the US renewable energy company with solar cells, paving the way for Motech's expansion into the US market.
Taiwan will prioritize the development of silicon photonics by taking advantage of its strength in the semiconductor industry to build another shield to protect the local economy, National Development Council (NDC) Minister Paul Liu (劉鏡清) said yesterday. Speaking at a meeting of the legislature’s Economics Committee, Liu said Taiwan already has the artificial intelligence (AI) industry as a shield, after the semiconductor industry, to safeguard the country, and is looking at new unique fields to build more economic shields. While Taiwan will further strengthen its existing shields, over the longer term, the country is determined to focus on such potential segments as
UNCERTAINTY: Innolux activated a stringent supply chain management mechanism, as it did during the COVID-19 pandemic, to ensure optimal inventory levels for customers Flat-panel display makers AUO Corp (友達) and Innolux Corp (群創) yesterday said that about 12 to 20 percent of their display business is at risk of potential US tariffs and that they would relocate production or shipment destinations to mitigate the levies’ effects. US tariffs would have a direct impact of US$200 million on AUO’s revenue, company chairman Paul Peng (彭雙浪) told reporters on the sidelines of the Touch Taiwan trade show in Taipei yesterday. That would make up about 12 percent of the company’s overall revenue. To cope with the tariff uncertainty, AUO plans to allocate its production to manufacturing facilities in
COLLABORATION: Given Taiwan’s key position in global supply chains, the US firm is discussing strategies with local partners and clients to deal with global uncertainties Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD) yesterday said it is meeting with local ecosystem partners, including Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), to discuss strategies, including long-term manufacturing, to navigate uncertainties such as US tariffs, as Taiwan occupies an important position in global supply chains. AMD chief executive officer Lisa Su (蘇姿丰) told reporters that Taiwan is an important part of the chip designer’s ecosystem and she is discussing with partners and customers in Taiwan to forge strong collaborations on different areas during this critical period. AMD has just become the first artificial-intelligence (AI) server chip customer of TSMC to utilize its advanced
Chizuko Kimura has become the first female sushi chef in the world to win a Michelin star, fulfilling a promise she made to her dying husband to continue his legacy. The 54-year-old Japanese chef regained the Michelin star her late husband, Shunei Kimura, won three years ago for their Sushi Shunei restaurant in Paris. For Shunei Kimura, the star was a dream come true. However, the joy was short-lived. He died from cancer just three months later in June 2022. He was 65. The following year, the restaurant in the heart of Montmartre lost its star rating. Chizuko Kimura insisted that the new star is still down
RSS