Pravin,
Some data on whats happening in taiwan including nforce:
Taiwan foundries see 30 percent drop in Q2 sales
By Mike Clendenin
EE Times
(07/09/01, 10:55 a.m. EST)
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TAIPEI, Taiwan — Confirming expectations, Taiwan's leading foundries released June sales figures on Monday (July 9) that were significantly lower than those seen in the first quarter. Revenue at United Microelectronics Corp. dropped 36.5 percent from the first quarter, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. reported a decline of 33.5 percent.
A few months ago, TSMC said it would weather a 26 percent drop in the second quarter, similar to its first-quarter decline. Despite the larger dip in revenue reflected by Monday's announcement, TSMC said it would manage a small operating profit this quarter. The company also said it sees "positive signs of gradual improvement" for the second half and believes sales have stabilized.
Some analysts attributed the hope of better times at Taiwan's largest foundry to Nvidia Corp., and none too soon. "These two companies have been doing so badly for such a long time that people are losing patience," said Chris Hsieh, a semiconductor analysts with ING Barings. Nvidia will be placing large orders with TSMC for the ramp up of its new integrated chip set — the nForce — which will be produced on TSMC's 0.18-micron process and shipped in volume this August.
At UMC, where the downturn is taking a greater toll, the picture is still fuzzy. The company recently said it would lose money in the second quarter and believed the third quarter might be worse. Just last week, chairman Bob Tsao said UMC would consider temporarily closing a fab if the downturn worsened.
UMC's decline was nearly in line with an earlier warning, in which the company adjusted its expectation of a 30 percent quarterly drop to a 35 percent drop. At UMC, revenue totaled approximately $123 million in June, down 52 percent from a year before. TSMC weighed in with $247 million, down 29 percent from the same time last year.
Monthly sales at UMC and TSMC have trended downward since the beginning of the year. Nevertheless, sales at TSMC for the first half are 9.5 percent higher than for last year, in part because of mergers. At UMC, sales are down 11 percent for the same period a year ago. "These figures show that utilization is better at TSMC and the ASP [average selling price] is probably better," Hsieh said. |
