Nanya Technology Corp (南亞科技), the world’s fourth-largest DRAM chipmaker, yesterday posted its smallest quarterly loss since the second quarter of last year as gross margin returned to positive territory for the first time in six quarters, driven by improvements in chip prices.
Losses narrowed to NT$813 million (US$24.95 million) during the quarter ended on June 30, compared with losses of NT$1.21 billion in the previous quarter. On an annual basis, losses widened from NT$771 billion.
Gross margin improved to 2.9 percent, compared with minus-2.9 percent in the first quarter and minus-11.2 percent in the second quarter last year.
Photo: Grace Hung, Taipei Times
Nanya Technology said it would have nearly broke even last quarter, if not for the effects of a massive earthquake in April that led to the company incurring about NT$657 million in damage.
Nanya president Lee Pei-ing (李培瑛) said the company might be able to post a profit this quarter, thanks to improving DDR4 inventory and better average selling prices, following a sequential increase of 12 to 13 percent last quarter.
Earlier this week, TrendForce Corp (集邦科技) predicted that DRAM prices would increase 8 to 13 percent this quarter from a quarter earlier.
The company’s shipments are expected to return to growth this quarter after dropping 5 percent sequentially last quarter, Lee said.
Shipments for the whole of this year are expected to grow 20 percent, given a lower comparison base last year, he said.
As the world’s three major memorychip makers race to produce high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips and DDR5 modules used in artificial intelligence servers or high-end servers, the companies would produce fewer DDR4 chips, which would benefit Nanya Technology, he said.
However, economic slowdowns in China and Europe, along with geopolitical tensions, would continue to affect the use of DRAM chips used in PCs, smartphones and consumer electronics, Lee said.
China, alone, purchases about 40 percent of mobile DRAM, he said.
Nanya Technology has no plans to produce HBM chips in the short term, as the company’s strategy is to tap the DDR5 market first, he said.
DDR5 chips are also used in high-end cloud-computing devices and PCs, the company said.
The company plans to roll out its first DDR5 modules with 16-gigabit capacity in the second half of this year, with estimated sales contribution reaching about 10 percent of its monthly revenue, Lee said.
Nanya Technology has resumed full production on its chip lines and does not expect a strike by Samsung Electronics Co workers to affect supply and demand in the market, he said.
Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) yesterday said that its research institute has launched its first advanced artificial intelligence (AI) large language model (LLM) using traditional Chinese, with technology assistance from Nvidia Corp. Hon Hai, also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), said the LLM, FoxBrain, is expected to improve its data analysis capabilities for smart manufacturing, and electric vehicle and smart city development. An LLM is a type of AI trained on vast amounts of text data and uses deep learning techniques, particularly neural networks, to process and generate language. They are essential for building and improving AI-powered servers. Nvidia provided assistance
DOMESTIC SUPPLY: The probe comes as Donald Trump has called for the repeal of the US$52.7 billion CHIPS and Science Act, which the US Congress passed in 2022 The Office of the US Trade Representative is to hold a hearing tomorrow into older Chinese-made “legacy” semiconductors that could heap more US tariffs on chips from China that power everyday goods from cars to washing machines to telecoms equipment. The probe, which began during former US president Joe Biden’s tenure in December last year, aims to protect US and other semiconductor producers from China’s massive state-driven buildup of domestic chip supply. A 50 percent US tariff on Chinese semiconductors began on Jan. 1. Legacy chips use older manufacturing processes introduced more than a decade ago and are often far simpler than
GREAT SUCCESS: Republican Senator Todd Young expressed surprise at Trump’s comments and said he expects the administration to keep the program running US lawmakers who helped secure billions of dollars in subsidies for domestic semiconductor manufacturing rejected US President Donald Trump’s call to revoke the 2022 CHIPS and Science Act, signaling that any repeal effort in the US Congress would fall short. US Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, who negotiated the law, on Wednesday said that Trump’s demand would fail, while a top Republican proponent, US Senator Todd Young, expressed surprise at the president’s comments and said he expects the administration to keep the program running. The CHIPS Act is “essential for America leading the world in tech, leading the world in AI [artificial
Gasoline and diesel prices this week are to decrease NT$0.5 and NT$1 per liter respectively as international crude prices continued to fall last week, CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) said yesterday. Effective today, gasoline prices at CPC and Formosa stations are to decrease to NT$29.2, NT$30.7 and NT$32.7 per liter for 92, 95 and 98-octane unleaded gasoline respectively, while premium diesel is to cost NT$27.9 per liter at CPC stations and NT$27.7 at Formosa pumps, the companies said in separate statements. Global crude oil prices dropped last week after the eight OPEC+ members said they would
RSS