Conservative outlook for IC industry
The heads of the world’s largest and second largest contract chipmakers yesterday gave a conservative outlook for the semiconductor industry in the near future.
Morris Chang, chairman of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), and Jackson Hu, chairman of United Microelectronics Corp. (UMC), made the remarks during their respective annual shareholders meetings yesterday.
During the meetings, TSMC shareholders approved a resolution to give out NT$3.05 in per-share cash dividends as a way to distribute the company’s earnings for 2007, while UMC shareholders approved a plan to give out NT$1.2.
The TSMC meeting was held at one of the firm’s 300-millimeter fabs, with Chang expressing his approval for holding the gathering there. “We’ll think about continuing to hold shareholders’ meeting at this venue in the future,” Chang said.
During the meeting, many shareholders sent small gifts to Chang, as they expressed hope that Chang would lead the firm to its former glory of the 1990s.
Chang said this year that the global semiconductor industry would grow by five percent from last year, in keeping with what was originally estimated.
By sector, Chang said memory IC devices would grow by less than five percent, while non-memory products would grow by a bigger margin.
“The subprime crisis in the United States has had a negative impact on the U.S. economy, and there may be a prolonging of the downturn,” Chang said. “Yet its impact on the IC industry is not as deep.”
At the UMC meeting, chairman Hu said things would not be the same as last year during the bottom-half IT peak season, due to a slowdown in the global economy.
Hu further said the company’s operational goal this year is to increase profitability. To achieve that goal, UMC will diversify products, raise competitiveness and place a sharper focus on silicon intellectual property rights, Hu said.
TSMC and UMC’s were among the 637 publicly listed firms holding shareholders’ meetings island-wide yesterday.
Even though it was Friday the 13th, the TAIEX performed relative well yesterday, compared to the past few days when stocks lost NT$3 trillion in market value.
The benchmark index climbed 43.28 points, or 0.5 percent, to 8,105.59 at the close of trade in Taipei, snapping a four-day losing streak. This week’s 7.3 percent decline was the largest since Aug. 17.
As for individual stocks, Catcher Technology Co. gained 50 NT cents, or 0.5 percent, to NT$100.5 after Yuanta Financial Holding Co. raised its rating on the maker of metal casings for Apple Inc. to “hold” from “sell.”
Chi Mei Optoelectronics Corp. declined 15 NT cents, or 0.4 percent, to NT$38.75 after KGI Securities Co., downgraded the company, Taiwan’s second-largest liquid-crystal display maker, to “neutral” from “outperform” and cut its 12 month price target by 14 percent to NT$47.
Chunghwa Picture Tubes Co. advanced 20 NT cents, or 2.2 percent, to NT$9.2 after the Apple Daily newspaper reported, citing Chairman Lin Wei-shan, that the company will soon seek NT$40 billion in syndicated loans to help finance its expansion.
Uni-President Enterprises Corp. climbed NT$1.5, or 3.7 percent, to NT$41.7, after Deutsche Bank AG rated Taiwan’s largest food maker “buy” in new coverage.
Tags: IC, industry, IT, Metal, Semiconductor, Taiwan