Wafer foundry UMC announced revenue simultaneously with World Advanced on the 9th, benefiting from the booming demand for 8-inch wafer foundry, revenue in the third quarter and the first three quarters both increased by about 1% on a quarterly basis. Revenue has also rewritten the second highest record in history.

UMC’s September revenue was 14.534 billion yuan (NTD, the same below), a monthly decrease of 2.1%, and an annual increase of 34.25%; the third quarter revenue was 44.87 billion yuan, a quarterly increase of 1.08%, an annual increase of 18.9%; the first three quarters’ revenue was 1315.25 100 million yuan, an annual increase of 23.67%.

In the third quarter, UMC benefited from the kinetic energy of the housing economy. Demands for panel driver ICs and power management ICs were booming. With the influx of new chips and urgent orders from major manufacturers such as Samsung and MediaTek, operations continued to strengthen. UMC estimates that wafer shipments and product average selling prices (ASP) in the third quarter will remain the same in the second quarter, and revenue is also expected to remain stable, with an estimated gross profit margin of about 20%. Foreign investment estimates that UMC’s EPS in the third quarter will reach approximately RMB 0.35-0.45.

The U.S. ban has been upgraded, and the market has reported that Qualcomm, Broadcom, etc. are actively approaching Taiwanese factories, including UMC and World Advanced. They are all expected to increase foundry prices. It is also reported that UMC’s 8-inch foundry prices have increased by more than 30%.

Foreign investment is optimistic. Since the third quarter, the demand for large-scale driver ICs, power chips and RF has increased, and 8-inch wafers have been tight earlier than expected. UMC has grasped the growth in demand for 8-inch wafers and 28-nanometers, and profits have increased significantly. The price was raised to 45 yuan, which also made UMC's transaction volume burst into 640,000 a day, setting a record for listing.

The world’s advanced September revenue was 2.85 billion yuan, a monthly increase of 7.3%, and an annual increase of 21.82%; the third quarter revenue was 8.344 billion yuan, a quarterly increase of 1.4%, and an annual increase of 17.08%; the first three quarters revenue was 24.414 billion yuan, an annual increase of 16.53 %.

In the third quarter of the world's advanced customers' foundry demand remained stable. Under the assumption of an exchange rate of 29.3 yuan to the US dollar, revenue is estimated at 8-8 billion yuan, a quarterly decrease of 2.7% to a quarterly increase of 2.1%, and a gross profit margin is estimated to be 32- 34%, the profit margin is estimated to be 20-22%, and the third quarter revenue is close to the high target of the financial forecast.

The chairman of the board is optimistic that the 8-inch production capacity is in short supply and the tight supply situation is expected to continue until next year. He also believes that although the market is optimistic about next year's demand and the impact of the epidemic on the industrial chain is also beginning to pass, there are still big changes in the overall environment. There are many uncertain factors, including the impact of the epidemic, when the vaccine will appear, and trade frictions between the United States and China, which have a potential impact on the prosperity of the semiconductor industry. It is necessary to carefully watch the market outlook.