The production value of Taiwan’s semiconductor industry rose by more than 28 percent year-on-year for the first quarter of this year on the back of strong demand for commercial and gaming notebook computers as well as emerging technologies, according to the government-supported Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI).
In its latest IEK Current Quarterly Model (IEKCQM) report, ITRI said the output of the local semiconductor sector reached NT$1.15 trillion (US$39.92 billion) in the first quarter, up 28.1 percent from the same period a year earlier.
The first-quarter production value also rose by 4.8 percent from a quarter earlier, indicating little impact on the sector from slow-season effects in the quarter, the ITRI data showed.
In the January-March period, the integrated circuit manufacturing segment, the largest portion of the local semiconductor industry, saw its output hit NT$666.7 billion, up 33.3 percent from a year earlier and also up 8.7 percent from a quarter earlier, the report said.
Robust global demand meant that major Taiwanese pure-play foundry operators such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), United Microelectronics Corp. (UMC), Vanguard International Semiconductor Corp. (VIS), and Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. all enjoyed full utilization of their production capacity in the first quarter which boosted their sales to new quarterly highs, according to ITRI.
Among them, TSMC, the world’s largest contract chipmaker, smashed its records by posting consolidated sales of NT$491.08 billion in the January-March period, up 12.07 percent from a quarter earlier and also up 35.5 percent from the same period a year earlier.
The results topped TSMC’s first-quarter sales guidance of between NT$458.16 billion and NT$474.72 billion, which was announced at an investor conference in January.
In the IC design segment, the production value reached NT$330 billion in the first quarter, up 26.8 percent from a year earlier and also up 3.9 percent from a quarter earlier, the ITRI data showed.
In addition, the output of the IC packaging and testing segments totaled NT$110 billion and NT$52.5 billion, respectively, in the January-March period, up 11.8 percent and 14.1 percent year-on-year, respectively, but down 8.3 percent and 4.5 percent, respectively, from the previous quarter, ITRI said.
ITRI said TSMC and its peers were expected to continue to see their production capacity fully utilized in the second quarter so the output of the IC manufacturing segment was expected to grow by 1.6 percent from the first quarter.
In addition, the production value of the IC design segment is expected to grow by 5.5 percent from a quarter earlier in the second quarter, while the output of the IC packaging and testing segments is estimated to grow by 1.8 percent and 2.9 percent, respectively, quarter-on-quarter, ITRI said.
ITIR said the semiconductor industry was expected to generate NT$1.19 trillion in output in the second quarter, up 2.8 percent from a quarter earlier.
For all of 2022, the local semiconductor industry’s production value is expected to reach NT$4.87 trillion, up 19.4 percent from a year earlier, which exceeds the institution’s earlier estimate of a 17.7-percent increase, according to ITRI.
Local semiconductor manufacturers are expected to see a 25.4 percent year-on-year increase in output in 2022, up from a previous forecast of a 22.3-percent rise, ITRI said.
IC designers’ output is expected to increase by 14 percent from a year earlier in 2022, while the output of IC packaging and testing services providers is expected to rise by 8.5 percent and 9.6 percent, respectively, ITIR added.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel