1. Display driver ICs still face heavy price pressure in the second half of the year
According to Taiwan Electronics Times quoted by Science and Technology Board Daily, many display driver IC (DDI) manufacturers believe that the price pressure from customers will still be very heavy in the second half of the year. The mobile phone market is weak, and the profit pressure of panel customers is still continuously shifting upstream.
The impact is not limited to mobile phone applications. For large and medium-sized products such as TV, IT, and vehicles, customers hope to give further price discounts for almost all product lines. Some DDI manufacturers admitted frankly that they may expand their investment in mainland fabs for specific products to increase profits and reduce competitive pressure.
2. Domestic cumulative output of integrated circuits from January to July was 191.2 billion pieces
On August 15, the National Bureau of Statistics announced the industrial production data above designated size in July this year. From a month-on-month perspective, the added value of industrial enterprises above designated size increased by 0.01% in July. From January to July, the added value of industries above designated size increased by 3.8% year-on-year.
Among them, the output of integrated circuits in July was 29.2 billion, a year-on-year increase of 4.1%; the cumulative output from January to July was 191.2 billion, a decrease of 3.9% from the same period last year.
3. It is said that a large foundry factory proposes to lower the long-term contract price of silicon wafers
According to Taiwan’s Economic Daily quoted by Science and Technology Board Daily, a large foundry has proposed to Japanese silicon wafer suppliers to lower the price of long-term contracts for next year in order to “overcome difficulties together.” The two parties are currently in the stage of wrestling. Since the Japanese silicon wafer fab is the most important supplier in the industry, this move will affect future price negotiations among the same industry, as well as the follow-up pricing strategy of related silicon wafer fabs.
The industry estimates that fabs will not easily compromise on the long-term price reduction requirements of large foundry customers, but relevant news has reflected the difficulty of the foundry end, and the storm has spread to the key material end.
4. It is rumored that Qualcomm will cut prices to clean up 5G processor inventory
According to the fast technology report, the latest news from the upstream supply chain said that in order to clear the inventory, Qualcomm will reduce the price of its processors, mainly for the low-end 5G chip market, which will undoubtedly bring MediaTek into the rhythm of price reduction. It is said that Qualcomm’s price reduction is not small, it will be around 20%.
Qualcomm’s third-quarter financial report showed revenue of US$8.451 billion, down 23% year-on-year, and net profit of US$1.803 billion, down 52% year-on-year. Qualcomm’s largest unit, QCT, which sells processors for smartphones, cars and other smart devices, posted sales of $7.17 billion, down 24% from a year earlier. Sales of mobile phone chips, QCT’s largest segment, fell 25% year-on-year to $5.26 billion.
5. Hon Hai expects sales of iPhones and other mobile phones to decline this year
According to TechWeb citing foreign media reports, it was reported last week that iPhone 15 camera supplier Sony expects demand for the new product to be lower than expected. Not only that, Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., the parent company of electronics contract factory Foxconn (Hon Hai Technology Group), expects sales of iPhones and other mobile phones to decline this year.
Hon Hai Technology Group’s financial report shows that in the second quarter, revenue fell by 14% year-on-year, gross profit also fell by 14%, operating profit fell by 30%, and net profit fell by 1%. Although both gross profit margin and net profit margin increased year-on-year, but Profits still hit the biggest drop in nearly three years.