TAIPEI, April 29 (Reuters) – Taiwanese chipmaker UMC said on Wednesday that it continues to see resilient market demand despite headwinds from memory chip supply shortages and the impact of the Iran war, and it will raise prices from the second half of this year.
• Going into the second quarter, the company expects strong wafer shipments supported by a rebound in demand in the communications segment as well as healthy demand across computer, consumer and industrial markets, UMC said in an earnings statement.
• “While the current memory supply shortage and the ongoing conflict in the Middle East are creating certain headwinds and market volatility, UMC continues to foresee resilient market demand,” CEO Jason Wang said in a statement.
• “We will implement a wafer price adjustment in the second half of 2026, which will set up a more favourable position for the upcoming 2027. So the pricing reflects both the evolving supply and demand environment and the continued investment required to support our customers’ growth,” Chief Financial Officer Chitung Liu told an earnings call.
• United Microelectronics Corp (UMC) focuses on more mature nodes, unlike Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co, the world’s largest contract chipmaker, which is investing big in the most advanced 2 and 1 nanometre technology to power artificial intelligence applications.
• On Wednesday, UMC reported first-quarter revenue of T$61.04 billion ($1.93 billion), up 5.5% from a year earlier, while net income was up 108% at T$16.17 billion.
• UMC’s shares have risen 51% so far this year, outperforming a 36% gain in the broader market. The company’s shares closed down 0.8% on Wednesday ahead of its earnings release.
($1 = 31.5650 Taiwan dollars)
(Reporting by Ben Blanchard and Wen-Yee Lee, Editing by Louise Heavens and Joe Bavier)
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