1. Analyst: Samsung Electronics’ profit in the second quarter will hit a 14-year low
According to IT House citing Reuters news, according to Refinitiv SmartEstimate analyst data, Samsung Electronics’ operating profit may drop to 555 billion won in the second quarter, which is equivalent to a 96% year-on-year plunge, the lowest in the past 14 years, and chip supply continues to decline. The main reason for the decline in excess profits.
The analysis pointed out that Samsung Electronics’ losses in this quarter were mainly due to the further decline in memory chip prices and the sharp reduction in inventory value, which will lead to a quarterly loss of 3-4 trillion won in Samsung Electronics’ traditionally most profitable chip division.
According to TrendForce, DRAM memory prices continued to fall by 13%-18% this quarter. As Samsung Electronics and peers cut supply, memory price declines have slowed down compared to previous quarters and are expected to be around the third quarter. Bottom, next year will see a significant recovery.
2. Universal Crystal’s revenue in the first half of the year rose, and its operation was stable
According to the Taiwan Business Times, the silicon wafer factory Universal Crystal announced June revenue of NT$6.31 billion, a monthly increase of 5.85% and an annual increase of 1.06%, setting a record for single-month revenue. In the second quarter, consolidated revenue reached NT$17.9 billion, a decrease of 3.87% quarter-on-quarter and an increase of 2.03% year-on-year. In the first half of the year, the cumulative consolidated revenue was 36.51 billion yuan, an increase of 7.88% over the same period last year, setting the best record in history.
The legal person pointed out that the demand for global silicon wafers below 6 inches is relatively weak, and the current utilization rate is about 70%. The 8-inch and 12-inch silicon wafers are also affected by the delay of some customers, and the utilization rate in the second quarter has dropped from full load to 90%. Above, but due to the company’s high long-term contract coverage, the overall performance is stable. Looking forward to the second half of the year, due to the uncertain demand of the terminal market, Universal Crystal will continue to carefully observe the industry dynamics and embrace the future industrial recovery with high resilience.
3. Organization: In 2023, sales of semiconductor equipment in Japan will decrease by 23% from the previous month
According to Nikkei and other reports quoted by the Science and Technology Board Daily, the Japan Semiconductor Manufacturing Equipment Association recently announced a new sales forecast for 2023, lowering the annual sales of Japanese semiconductor equipment to around 3.02 trillion yen (about 21 billion U.S. dollars). will decrease by 23% month-on-month. The main reason for the reduction is that the recovery of equipment investment in semiconductor factories, mainly memory factories, is slower than expected.
4. UMC hit a five-month revenue high and performed better than expected in the second quarter
According to the Taiwan Business Times, the wafer foundry UMC announced its June revenue of NT$19.056 billion, a month-on-month increase of 1.48%, setting a new high in revenue in the past five months; the second quarter revenue of NT$56.229 billion, a month-on-month increase of 3.85% , a year-on-year decrease of 21.87%, slightly better than previous expectations.
UMC pointed out that in the second quarter, due to the continuous inventory adjustment of customers, wafer shipments and average prices were the same as the previous quarter. As for the market situation in the second half of the year, UMC pointed out that there are no signs of strong recovery at present, but in the medium and long term, driven by the demand for major trends such as 5G, smart networking and electric vehicles, it remains optimistic about the growth momentum. UMC also stated that 28nm will have a capacity utilization rate of 90%, but the 8-inch process has a high degree of overlap with other factories, and the price is more sensitive, while more than 80% of the 12-inch orders are special processes, so it is relatively good. .
5. It is said that the price of HBM memory has started to rise, and the supply is expected to be tight in the next two years
According to Science and Technology Board Daily, citing Taiwan Electronics Times, industry sources revealed that the price of high-bandwidth memory (HBM) has begun to rise due to the surge in demand for artificial intelligence servers. At present, the world’s top three memory chip manufacturers are transferring more production capacity to produce HBM, but because it takes time to adjust production capacity, it is difficult to quickly increase HBM production, and it is expected that the supply of HBM will remain tight in the next two years.
6. More shipments are expected, and the iPhone 15 series will be mass-produced in August
According to Fast Technology, Apple will release a new generation of iPhone 15 in September. The supply chain has already started trial production a month ago, and now it is getting closer to mass production. According to the latest forecast by Haitong International Technology Research analyst Jeff Pu, Apple will officially begin mass production of the iPhone 15 series in August, and is expected to ship 84 million units in the second half of the year, a 12% increase from last year’s iPhone 14 series.
There are many rumors in the industry that the top version will be renamed iPhone 15 Ultra, because of the huge upgrade, and exclusive 6x optical periscope telephoto. This has opened up a gap between it and the small screen Pro, and the price has risen further, or it will start at $1,199 (about 8,547 yuan), compared with $1,099 for the previous generation.