UPDATE 2-TSMC, UMC revenues extend recovery in June
Thu Jul 7, 2005 04:01 AM ET
(Adds UMC sales)
By Michael Kramer
TAIPEI, July 7 (Reuters) - TSMC (2330.TW: Quote, Profile, Research) (TSM.N: Quote, Profile, Research) , the world's top contract maker of microchips, said on Thursday sales grew for a fourth straight month in June, showing a steady recovery from a global semiconductor slump in the first quarter.
Chip sales are picking up as customers digested the last of excess inventory following unexpectedly weak demand in late 2004 which led to a downturn early this year.
But many analysts expect a slow pace of recovery until later this year, when products like new third-generation (3G) mobile phones and Microsoft Corp.'s (MSFT.O: Quote, Profile, Research) XBox 360 game console go into production.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) reported June revenues rose 3.1 percent from May to T$20.105 billion (US$626 million), though sales remained down 10.7 percent from a year earlier.
"Due to continued demand recovery from our customers, wafer shipments for June increased over May," company spokeswoman Lora Ho said, without giving further details.
Its main competitor United Microelectronics Corp. (UMC) (2303.TW: Quote, Profile, Research) posted June sales of T$6.607 billion, up 2.1 percent from May but down 36 percent from the same month last year.
UMC has lagged its larger competitor in the current recovery, partly because it has a higher proportion of customers in the battered telecommunications sector.
June's result took TSMC's second quarter sales to T$58.516 billion, up 5.14 percent from the previous quarter for the first sequential rise in half a year. But April-June sales were down 9.79 percent from a year ago.
UMC's April-June revenues came to T$19.44 billion, off 4.16 percent from the first quarter and down by a third from the same period last year.
The market has long expected the two companies would begin to turn around. TSMC shares rallied 21 percent from April 22 to hit a more than 1-½ year closing high on June 23 before shedding 4.5 percent.
TSMC shares are up 11.54 percent over the past 3 months, compared with a 27.22 percent rise in UMC and a 4 percent gain in Taiwan's benchmark TAIEX share index.
Shares in TSMC, which is nearly 19 percent owned by Philips Electronics NV (PHG.AS: Quote, Profile, Research) , ended unchanged at T$54.60 on Thursday, ahead of the sales announcement, while UMC gained 1.72 percent and the benchmark TAIEX share index lost 0.15 percent. ($1=T$32.1) |
