CHIPMAKERS
UMC posts record revenue
United Microelectronics Co (UMC, 聯電), the world’s No. 3 contract chipmaker, yesterday reported record monthly revenue of NT$16.62 billion (US$584.66 million) for last month, up 14.06 percent from NT$14.57 billion a year earlier and 11.17 percent from NT$14.95 billion in February. In the first three months of this year, cumulative revenue grew 11.43 percent to NT$47.1 billion from NT$42.27 billion a year earlier, UMC said in a statement. Cumulative revenue grew 3.98 percent quarter-on-quarter, in line with the company’s forecast. Separately, Macronix International Co (旺宏電子), which supplies memory chips for Japanese gaming console maker Nintendo Co, yesterday reported that its revenue dropped 7.1 percent annually, but increased 19.8 percent monthly to NT$3.61 billion last month. The company said cumulative revenue in the first quarter was NT$9.63 billion, the best revenue for the first quarter on record.
ELECTRONICS
Yageo revenue doubles
Yageo Corp (國巨), the world’s third-largest supplier of passive components, yesterday said that its revenue more than doubled to NT$8.73 billion last month from NT$4.03 billion a year earlier and grew 24.6 percent from NT$7.01 billion in February. Yageo attributed the growth to an increase in the number of working days and healthy demand. Cumulative revenue in the first quarter soared 137 percent annually to NT$23.74 billion — the second-highest quarterly revenue in the company’s history, it said. Meanwhile, rival Walsin Technology Corp (華新科技) said that its revenue jumped 53.7 percent year-on-year and 25.7 percent month-on-month to NT$3.76 billion last month. Walsin said demand has increased due to a stay-at-home economy and cloud-computing devices. First-quarter revenue expanded 64.1 percent year-on-year to NT$10.46 billion from NT$6.37 billion.
MACHINERY
Parts makers beat forecasts
The performance of makers of industrial automation components beat market expectations last month, with linear-motion component suppliers, such as Hiwin Technologies Co (上銀科技), and pneumatic parts makers, such as Airtac International Group (亞德客), reporting record revenues. Hiwin yesterday posted revenue of NT$2.16 billion, up 15.79 percent month-on-month and 59.22 percent year-on-year, while Airtac’s revenue was NT$2.39 billion, up 69.34 percent month-on-month and 37.58 percent year-on-year, regulatory filings showed. In the first quarter, Hiwin’s revenue totaled NT$5.99 billion, up 65.8 percent from a year earlier and the highest for the January-to-March quarter, while Airtac’s revenue was NT$5.93 billion, up 87.89 percent and also a record.
PHARMACEUTICALS
EirGenix, Hong Wei ink pact
EirGenix Inc (台康生技) on Tuesday signed a letter of intent with Hong Wei Investment Co (鋐維股份) to sell 55 million new common shares via a private placement for NT$5.04 billion, the pharmaceuticals firm said in a statement. The deal would allow Hong Wei to secure an 18.56 percent stake in EirGenix and become the largest shareholder of the company, the statement said. EirGenix, a contract development and manufacturing organization and biosimilars maker, said that the deal is conducive to its long-term development as it would help enhance the company’s operating efficiency and bolster its competitiveness. The main shareholder of Hong Wei is Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) founder Terry Gou (郭台銘).
Merida Industry Co (美利達) has seen signs of recovery in the US and European markets this year, as customers are gradually depleting their inventories, the bicycle maker told shareholders yesterday. Given robust growth in new orders at its Taiwanese factory, coupled with its subsidiaries’ improving performance, Merida said it remains confident about the bicycle market’s prospects and expects steady growth in its core business this year. CAUTION ON CHINA However, the company must handle the Chinese market with great caution, as sales of road bikes there have declined significantly, affecting its revenue and profitability, Merida said in a statement, adding that it would
MARKET LEADERSHIP: Investors are flocking to Nvidia, drawn by the company’s long-term fundamntals, dominant position in the AI sector, and pricing and margin power Two years after Nvidia Corp made history by becoming the first chipmaker to achieve a US$1 trillion market capitalization, an even more remarkable milestone is within its grasp: becoming the first company to reach US$4 trillion. After the emergence of China’s DeepSeek (深度求索) sent the stock plunging earlier this year and stoked concerns that outlays on artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure were set to slow, Nvidia shares have rallied back to a record. The company’s biggest customers remain full steam ahead on spending, much of which is flowing to its computing systems. Microsoft Corp, Meta Platforms Inc, Amazon.com Inc and Alphabet Inc are
RISING: Strong exports, and life insurance companies’ efforts to manage currency risks indicates the NT dollar would eventually pass the 29 level, an expert said The New Taiwan dollar yesterday rallied to its strongest in three years amid inflows to the nation’s stock market and broad-based weakness in the US dollar. Exporter sales of the US currency and a repatriation of funds from local asset managers also played a role, said two traders, who asked not to be identified as they were not authorized to speak publicly. State-owned banks were seen buying the greenback yesterday, but only at a moderate scale, the traders said. The local currency gained 0.77 percent, outperforming almost all of its Asian peers, to close at NT$29.165 per US dollar in Taipei trading yesterday. The
The US overtaking China as Taiwan’s top export destination could boost industrial development and wage growth, given the US is a high-income economy, an economist said yesterday. However, Taiwan still needs to diversify its export markets due to the unpredictability of US President Donald Trump’s administration, said Chiou Jiunn-rong (邱俊榮), an economics professor at National Central University. Taiwan’s exports soared to a record US$51.74 billion last month, driven by strong demand for artificial intelligence (AI) products and continued orders, with information and communication technology (ICT) and audio/video products leading all sectors. The US reclaimed its position as Taiwan’s top export market, accounting for
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