Taiwan Mask Corp (台灣光罩), which specializes in producing photomasks used in semiconductor manufacturing, yesterday said it expects revenue to surge by almost 30 pecent to NT$10 billion (US$326.9 million) this year, buoyed by rising orders from major clients and higher average selling prices.
Revenue last year increased 27 percent to NT$7.74 billion.
Taiwan Mask said sales should gradually grow in the following quarters, after a projected decline of up to 24 percent to between NT$1.5 billion and NT$1.6 billion this quarter from NT$1.97 billion last quarter.
Photo: Grace Hung, Taipei Times
“The decline was mostly due to weakness in the consumer electronics segment,” Taiwan Mask president Lidon Chen (陳立惇) said. “We believe demand will pick up in the second half of the year.”
The first quarter should be the trough for this year, he said.
Revenue in the first two months of this year shrank 7.81 percent to NT$1.01 billion, as customer demand declined due to inventory correction.
Factory utilization is almost full and the company has seen a nascent recovery in demand from manufacturers of driver ICs used in touch panels, he said.
With ongoing plans for capacity expansion and technology migration this year, the company expects average selling prices to trend higher, Chen said.
As the company is scheduled to commence mass production of 40-nanometer masks later this year, revenue contribution from 12-inch masks would be higher than last year, another factor that would boost its average selling prices, it said.
Taiwan Mask has a 2 percent share of the global mask market and counts the world’s major foundry service providers among its customers.
The company plans to boost capital spending from NT$2.5 billion last year by between 20 and 40 percent to between NT$3 billion and NT$3.5 billion this year to focus on advanced technology.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) halted shipments to a customer this month after its semiconductors were sent to China’s Huawei Technologies Co (華為), potentially breaching US sanctions, a government official said. The US slapped sanctions on Huawei in 2019, and expanded them the following year, over fears its technology could be used for Beijing’s espionage operations. The restrictions prevent TSMC from selling semiconductors to Huawei. However, TSMC discovered on Oct. 11 that chips made for a “specific customer” had ended up with the Chinese company, a Taiwanese official with knowledge of the incident said on the condition of anonymity. TSMC “immediately activated
US SANCTIONS: The Taiwan tech giant has ended all shipments to China-based Sophgo Technologies after one of their chips was discovered in a Huawei phone Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) suspended shipments to China-based chip designer Sophgo Technologies Ltd (算能科技) after a chip it made was found on a Huawei Technologies Co (華為) artificial intelligence (AI) processor, according to two people familiar with the matter. Sophgo had ordered chips from TSMC that matched the one found on Huawei’s Ascend 910B, the people said. Huawei is restricted from buying the technology to protect US national security. Reuters could not determine how the chip ended up on the Huawei product. Sophgo said in a statement on its Web site yesterday that it was in compliance with all laws
TECH TITANS: Nvidia briefly overtook Apple again on Friday after becoming the world’s largest company for a short period in June, as Microsoft fell to third place Nvidia Corp dethroned Apple Inc as the world’s most valuable company on Friday following a record-setting rally in the stock, powered by insatiable demand for its specialized artificial intelligence (AI) chips. Nvidia’s stock market value briefly touched US$3.53 trillion, slightly above Apple’s US$3.52 trillion, London Stock Exchange Group data showed. Nvidia ended the day up 0.8 percent, with a market value of US$3.47 trillion, while Apple’s shares rose 0.4 percent, valuing the iPhone maker at US$3.52 trillion. In June, Nvidia briefly became the world’s most valuable company before it was overtaken by Microsoft Corp and Apple. The tech trio’s market capitalizations have been
Shares of Starlux Airlines Co (星宇航空) surged more than 53 percent on its debut on the Taiwan stock exchange yesterday. Starlux shares closed up 53.75 percent at NT$30.75 from its initial public offering price of NT$20 after retreating in late trading from a 60 percent rise. China Airlines Ltd (CAL, 中華航空) rose 0.90 percent to close at NT$22.35, while EVA Airways Corp (長榮航空) gained 0.40 percent to close at NT$37.70. In Taiwan, a newly listed stock is allowed to go beyond the 10 percent maximum increase or decline in its first five trading sessions. At the listing ceremony, Starlux chairman Chang Kuo-wei (張國煒) said
RSS