Foundry UMC (2303-TW)(UMC-US) held a meeting today (16), Wang Shi, the co-general manager, pointed out that the visibility of orders in the first quarter was low, and the operation was full of multiple challenges. It will drop to 70%. It is expected that as the industry continues to destock, demand is expected to gradually pick up in the second half of the year.
Wang Shi pointed out that the global economy is weak this year, and the number of days of customer inventory in the first quarter is higher than normal. The rate is about 70%. The legal person estimated that UMC’s US dollar revenue in the first quarter will decline by 17-19%.
Wang Shi said that in the first half of the year, the demand for mobile phones, PCs and consumer electronics continued to be weak, and customers continued to destock. Average product prices are forecast to hold steady.
Wang Shi also said that the 8-inch capacity utilization rate in the first quarter was relatively low, the 12-inch capacity utilization rate will be higher than the overall average capacity utilization rate, and the 28-nanometer will be slightly higher than the 12-inch average level. Although the first half of the year was affected by the cooling demand for communication products, However, it is optimistic that the demand for 22/28nm will pick up in the second half of the year.
Affected by the global economic situation, the industry’s inventory adjustment, and the sluggish consumer demand, Wang Shi predicts that the revenue of the global semiconductor industry will decline by 1-3% this year, and the revenue of the foundry industry will decline by 4-6%. .
UMC’s automotive IC business grew 82% last year, accounting for 9% of its overall business. Benefiting from the long-term trend of automotive electronics and automation, UMC expects that automotive ICs will continue to be an important growth driver in 2023 and beyond.
