2011年1月30日 星期日

郭台銘:觸控面板 獨立新公司

2011.01.31 【經濟日報╱記者袁顥庭、李立達/台北報導】



鴻海董事長郭台銘昨(30)日證實,今年要把奇美電的觸控面板業務獨立出去,成立一家子公司,來整合中小尺寸面板和觸控面板相關業務,挑戰觸控面板廠龍頭宸鴻的地位。
由於觸控廠TPK宸鴻、洋華、介面等股價都有數百元以上的實力,奇美觸控業務未來獨立上市,可望成為集團內的另一隻小金雞。
觸控前兩大廠分別是TPK宸鴻與勝華,去年營收分別達到621億與640億元,今年兩大廠營收均將挑戰千億元。奇美電去年營收4,800億元,以觸控占10%估算,去年規模就有480億元,加計鴻海集團全力爭取蘋果的觸控訂單,今、明兩年,奇美電將會嚴重威脅到TPK宸鴻與勝華。
去年市場傳出,為了爭取蘋果觸控面板的訂單,郭台銘親自督軍重整中小尺寸和觸控面板團隊,將把奇美電觸控面板事業部獨立為一間新公司。奇美電在去年12月中,宣布投資2,000萬美元(約新台幣6億元),在中國成立新公司鴻奇光電(深圳),主要業務是生產觸控面板,被外界解讀要為成立新公司預作準備。
郭台銘昨日大方承認此一傳聞,他指出,觸控面板是一項重要的零組件,公司必須掌握,集團內已有強化玻璃等觸控零組件,站有很好的戰略地位。內部正規劃要把觸控面板業務切割出來,獨立為一家新公司。不過,時間還未定,有待董事會決定。
奇美電目前在苗栗和中國深圳各有一條觸控面板生產線,觸控面板單月營收約20億至30億元,去年底觸控面板月產能約400萬至600萬片。
去年奇美電中小尺寸面板出貨量約4.5億片,今年則是挑戰5億片。現在手機、平板電腦的面板,客戶都希望搭配觸控面板一起出貨,提供完整的解決方案,整合度高的奇美電與友達,對爭取觸控訂單更加有利。
此外,觸控面板正值高成長階段,產業平均毛利率在20%以上,高成長、高毛利也讓相關廠商股價表現亮眼。TPK是台股的高價股、洋華也曾榮登股王,介面有百元以上的實力,將觸控面板這隻高毛利、前景好的業務獨立出去,可望成為集團內的一隻小金雞母。
奇美電也指出,觸控面板市場的熱度很高,站在鼓勵公司內部創業、以及集中市場取得資金方便等考量,會朝這個方向進行,但要如何切割,目前仍在進行討論。


2011年1月29日 星期六

大敵當前 冠捷科技做深、做好、做精準

2011.01.29   【聯合晚報╱記者楊曉芳/台北報導】





目前全球液晶顯示器龍頭冠捷 (TPV)集團正面臨昔日的戰友(原奇美電)與敵手(群創)合併而成一個全新且巨大的競爭對手,且奇美電大股東鴻海 (2317)今年電視代工將挑戰一年千萬台的量,更是用倍數的速度直追冠捷在電視市場市占,而冠捷也在新奇美成立的這一年來與友達成了合資結盟為巴西與歐洲的夥伴。談快速變化的液晶產業生態,冠捷主席兼行政總裁宣建生接受本報記者專訪。
競爭優勢 就是一個字「Foucs」

記者問:TFT LCD產業在去年新奇美電成立後又進入新的競爭時代,你怎麼看冠捷在這個產業的未來?
宣建生答:Monitor( 監視器)已進入成熟期了,我和新奇美兩家公司的全球市占率加起來就已經接近6成,我就占全球3分之1 ,新奇美也拿下2成多不到3成的市占率,現在Monitor的市場需求也趨緩慢了,都已是個位數的年成長率。
TV(指液晶電視)的競爭就比較激烈,現在台灣至少有個10家公司在做,我預期再2至3年,TV這一塊競爭的廠商會變2大2小、2大3小或3大2小這樣的生態,時間最長不會拖過5年。
我們是很有信心,我們憑的就是一個字「Foucs」(聚焦),看看我現在的對手,就鴻海、新奇美、緯創、仁寶、瑞軒,這幾家都是很不錯的公司,裡面除了瑞軒,其他都有個5、6樣產品在做。
上帝給每人都一樣一天就24小時,工作如果到18個小時,他們要分給4、5樣產品,我老宣就只要管1樣(指顯示器成品組裝),憑著專注,我們可以做深、做好且精準。
我們這個產業就像葉國一說的,是「毛三到四」,毛利率就3%至4%,要利潤要從效率、品質、規模去比較,我們就用專注致勝。
與群創、友達又競又合

問:昔日原奇美電為冠捷策略夥伴,且原奇美電還是冠捷股東,現在新奇美電成立,冠捷又與友達結盟,冠捷與新奇美之間已是漸行漸遠的關係了嗎?
答:不能這麼說吧!現在全世界都是競合時代,新奇美的business model(商業模式)跟之前的群創不一樣了,出海口來看是倒過來了。過去群創是SI(系統整合廠),自製的面板是內部自給貢獻的零組件之一,現在他(指新奇美)倒過來了,他面板產量大,SI這個出海口小。
他現在中大尺寸一年要做1億5千萬片面板,但SI沒這個規模,所以他現在是個面板廠,所以他是需要我,而我也希望他能是我長期的供應商。雖然我TV的市占還不到1成,但我將來要做到15%,所以我當然需要和多家面板結緣,才能拿到足夠的面板。
而且,每個面板廠各有各的長處,比如24吋就是友達有競爭力,23.6吋就是奇美電、40吋的是三星的有競爭力,而42吋就是LGD比較有競爭力,我都要跟他們拿,用他們的長處讓我產品多元且有競爭力。
而且友達也是和我又競又合,在巴西、歐洲友達和我結盟,但在中國,他們又有景智,所以就是都結個好緣。這就是現在這個產業的生態。
品牌賣得成功就不一定要有工廠

問:友達積極與中國電視品牌廠結盟,怎麼看冠捷在現況下的機會?
答:我也吃不了那麼大市場,我的市占就9%,中國的品牌廠雖然有6成還是都自己做,但也看到委外代工的趨勢。索尼就給很好的示範,他們不做,但不也把廠賣給了鴻海,索尼就證明了,品牌賣得成功也不是一定要有工廠,這個就給大家一個啟發,把生產製造委外,把渠道、品牌做好。
在競合複雜的液晶產業中,冠捷與英業達合資成立英冠達,進軍AIO PC市場,同時與LCD面板廠友達在歐洲波蘭、巴西瑪瑙斯合資成立液晶模組廠,拓展LED背光技術的顯示器及液晶電視。此外,冠捷更與LED廠億光及晶電在中國福清市成立億冠晶光電,全力發展觸控產業。

2011年1月28日 星期五

華擎躍升全球主機板三哥

  • 2011-01-29
  •  
  • 工商時報
  •  
  • 【記者楊玟欣/台北報導】



華擎(3515)去年主機板出貨780萬片,華擎副總李俊瑩指出,華擎去年已超越微星,位居全球第三大主機板品牌,僅次於華碩及技嘉,今年主機板出貨量成長挑戰15%,出貨目標上看900萬台。李俊瑩表示,今年中高階產品出貨占比提高至3~4成,看好平均單價成長1成。
     英特爾Sandy Bridge新平台上市,李俊瑩指出,上市反應不錯,1月新平台主機板出貨量占比已達1成,預期全年出貨占比突破5成,看好新品帶動效應,華擎第1季季增率挑戰5~10%。
     此外,華擎全系列主機板搭載USB3.0,加上今年單價50美元以上中高階產品出貨比重,將從去年2成以下,占比成長至3~40%。李俊瑩認為,華擎今年產品單價將隨之提升。法人看好,華擎今年營運價量齊揚,營收年增率挑戰2成。
     李俊瑩指出,今年全球品牌主機板市場規模持平,預估約7,500萬片,且將因為缺工、缺料因素產生排擠效應,供應商支持經濟規模較大的廠商,小品牌恐因而拿不到貨。預期今年全球前三大品牌吃下的市占率將從70%提高至75%。
     李俊瑩表示,目前人力缺口約15%,年後恐怕更吃緊,但華擎代工廠在越南也有設廠,可彌補大陸沿海地區工資調漲,及缺工困境。
     此外,華擎2009年嘗試切入筆記型電腦市場,但市場銷售狀況不佳,已決定退出。今年則思考進軍平板電腦,產品交由母公司和碩代工,預計第2季會推出7吋以及10吋,搭載Android平台的平板電腦。

緯創 穩居NB代工三強

2011.01.29    【經濟日報╱記者王皓正/台北報導】





緯創資通今年的筆記型電腦(NB)出貨量將達3,500至3,700萬台,穩坐全球前三大NB代工廠地位。另外,TV與手持式裝置今年的出貨量可望倍增,分別達到千萬台的出貨規模。
緯創董事長林憲銘說,緯創過去十年雖然走的有點辛苦,但經過公司同仁的共同努力,已成功打出一片天,緯創將繼續往第二個「黃金十年」邁進。
緯創昨(28)日舉辦尾牙,今年主題為「緯創十年、十分感謝」。由於緯創正值辦理國內現增、及發行海外存託憑證(GDR)的緘默期,林憲銘表示,無法對公司今年的營運展望提供太多說法。
去年緯創營收6,147.16億元,較前年成長12.18%。法人預估,緯創今年營收7,782.42億元,年成長23.23%,毛利率5.49%,稅後純益139.26億元,每股稅後純益(EPS)7.47元。
緯創表示,去年NB出貨2,750萬台,較前年2,550 萬台成長一成;展望今年,緯創已取得宏碁、戴爾、聯想等大型客戶的新增訂單,並且新增一日系客戶。
據了解,緯創內部今年將以NB出貨3,500至3,700萬台為目標,年成長將達二至三成左右,將高於整體產業的平均水準。
由於緯創規模經濟已經建立,加上小廠多已退出市場,產業整合已告尾聲,若以明年的NB出貨目標來看,緯創將僅次於廣達、仁寶,坐穩全球前三大NB代工廠的地位。
在其他非NB的產品線部分,除了顯示器和伺服器預期今年成長幅度較不顯著外,電視、手持式裝置、以及桌上型電腦(DT)等三大產品線的成長幅度,預期都將比NB更強勁。
據了解,其中,電視和手持式裝置今年出貨量,預期今年將較去年倍增;至於DT方面,雖然DT被NB取代的大趨勢不變,但因緯創在新興市場仍然可以看到不錯的成長動能,法人估年增幅度30%,同樣也可突破1,000萬台。

2011年1月27日 星期四

LG Electronics Swings to Loss

JANUARY 26, 2011,    the WALL STREET JOURNAL







SEOUL—LG Electronics Inc. on Wednesday said it swung to a net loss for the fourth quarter, weighed down by its struggling handset business and sluggish demand for flat-screen televisions amid stiff competition and weakness in European markets.
This was LG's first loss in seven quarters, coming in below market forecasts, but the company said its profitability will improve on expectations its core handset business will start to pick up after heavily investing in new models.
"The first quarter is normally a low-selling season, including TVs, so sales may slow slightly from the previous quarter," said Chief Financial Officer David Jung at an investor-relations session.
"However, helped by our new product launches, including smartphones and LCD TVs, and our continued cutting cost efforts, our profitability will be improved from this quarter and LG may swung to a profit in the first quarter of this year."
For the three months ended Dec. 31, LG, which makes a wide range of consumer electronics and is the world's second-largest liquid-crystal-display TV maker and third-largest handset maker, posted a net loss of 256.4 billion won (US$229.3 million), sharply reversing from a net profit of 361.9 billion won a year earlier. The result was worse than the average 166 billion won net loss forecast by five analysts polled by Dow Jones Newswires.
[LGELECT]
The electronics maker also reported an operating loss of 245.7 billion won for the fourth quarter, reversing from a 113.8 billion won profit a year earlier, while sales edged up 1.8% to 14.70 trillion won from 14.44 trillion won.
For the full year, the company posted a net profit of 1.28 trillion won, down from 2.35 trillion won in 2009. Its 2010 operating profit was 176.5 billion won, falling sharply from 2.68 trillion won the previous year.
Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg News
An LG Electronics Cyon mobile phone getting a wireless charge
All consolidated figures are based on International Financial Reporting Standards.
The deep loss comes as LG seeks to overcome a misstep in its handset operations, where it has fallen well behind global rivals such as Samsung Electronics and Apple Inc. in offering feature-packed high-margin smartphones. LG, the world's third-largest handset maker by shipments behindNokia and Samsung, has poured resources into developing smartphones in recent months and is in the process of releasing a new series of models as it seeks to return the key handset segment to profit.
"We are targeting to sell a total of 120 million cellphones globally this year and smartphone sales will be around 19% of that total shipment," said Mr. Jung. Last year, LG sold 116.6 million cellphones.
Sales from LG's handset division, which accounts for around 20% of the company's total revenue, fell 15% to 3.328 trillion won from 3.924 trillion won. But the unit's operating loss margin slightly narrowed to 7.9% from 10.2% in the third quarter. The company sold 30.6 million handsets in the fourth quarter, up from 28.4 million units in the third quarter.
Sales from LG's home entertainment division, which makes flat-screen TVs and plasma display panels and accounts for around 40% of total revenue, rose 5% to 6.205 trillion won from 5.928 trillion won.
For 2011, LG set a record sales target of 59 trillion won ($52.8 billion) and said it plans to invest a total of 4.8 trillion won in capital expenditure. LG posted 55.8 trillion won in sales in 2010.
"Under new senior management, the company will continue to invest in high-potential businesses such as solar energy, commercial air conditioning and water treatment," LG Electronics said in a statement.
Koo Bon-joon, a member of the founding family of the broader LG conglomerate, took over the leadership of the flagship electronics maker on Oct. 1 in 2010 after the resignation of Nam Yong in September due to the company's cellphone woes.
Analysts said LG's new line of handsets should help shore up the company's business.
"LG's handset business is expected to turn around in the first quarter and profitability will sharply improve as it launches smartphones such as the Optimus 2X and Optimus Black," said S.H. Lee, an analyst at Mirae Asset Securities.
LG rolled out the Android-powered smartphone Optimus 2X in South Korea last week through the country's largest mobile carrier SK Telecom. The device has a Tegra 2 dual-core processor made by Nvidia Corp. and will also be released in Europe and Asia.
Its Optimus line of smartphones has so far sold better than the market had expected, analysts say, but critics say the company should come up with new high-end devices with more powerful specs to compete better with other Android-powered handsets, such as Samsung's Galaxy S and the Droid line developed by Motorola Mobility Holdings.
Sales from its home appliance unit rose 14% to 2.819 trillion won from 2.479 trillion won, while its operating profit rose to 78 billion won from 12.2 billion won a year earlier.
Sales from its air-conditioning unit jumped 51% to 912.7 billion won from 606.3 billion won a year earlier. Operating profit was 9.7 billion won in the fourth quarter, reversing from 27.7 billion won loss posted a year earlier.

兩大面板集團旗下關鍵零組件布局

2011/01/27   【經濟日報╱記者劉芳妙、李立達/台北報導】






‧輸入個股名或股號,查詢個股走勢: 

市場傳出,鴻海有意以每股55元入股中光電,取得其15%股權,將強化面板業的垂直整合能力,提升獲利。中光電擁有微投影等光學元件技術,也是鴻海集團未來切入光學產業的利基。

不過,中光電昨(26)日駁斥該傳聞,並直言,目前為止沒有籌資計畫。鴻海也以「從未聽聞」,直接否認該消息。

受該消息激勵,中光電股價昨天盤中爆量直攻,成交量達1.22萬張,為一個月來最大量,終場大漲1.55元,作收48.9元。

中光電上個月宣布與日本觸控面板第二大廠郡是(Gunze Limited)合資在廣州設立觸控面板廠,今年3月開始量產,初期月產20萬片,該廠就是接獲來自奇美電的觸控面板背光模組訂單,顯示鴻海集團與中光電的關係密切。由於奇美電是中光電的大客戶之一,如果鴻海入股,也有助確保下游出海口,兩者一拍即合。

同時,中光電也是投影機製造大廠,旗下擁有投影機品牌奧圖碼,以及精耕微投影光學技術的揚明光。由於,未來手機、平板電腦導入微投影功能的機會很高,對鴻海這類系統廠商來說,若能整合微投影關鍵技術,亦有其利基。

友達與奇美電兩大面板集團,旗下零組件供應商壁壘分明,中光電與瑞儀是目前僅存的獨立背光模組大廠。中光電的客戶涵蓋台系、韓系與中系品牌廠,相當多元化。

外界也質疑,一旦有「富爸爸」鴻海入股,中光電被貼上標籤,旗下客戶結構恐將重新洗牌,其中權衡利弊得失,有待評估。

面板廠近幾年積極以併購入股方式,整合旗下關鍵零組件廠,以友達為例,除了既有背光模組廠達運之外,同時也以入股方式,納入奈普、輔祥等背光模組廠;奇美電旗下則有奇菱。

Exxon Predicts Gas Use Will Surpass Coal's

JANUARY 27, 2011   WALL STREET JOURNAL







In Exxon Mobil Corp.'s crystal ball, the future of natural gas is looking increasingly rosy.
Associated Press
Exxon sees natural gas use rising. A gas well off Nova Scotia in 2009.
Global demand for natural gas, commonly used for heating homes and businesses and for generating electricity, will increase 2% a year through 2030, the Texas oil giant says, raising the 1.8% estimate it made last year.
This is no small change. It means that Exxon expects the world in 2030 to burn seven quadrillion British thermal units of gas more than the company predicted a year ago. That's about the same amount of energy consumed by California in a year.
While oil will remain the dominant fuel, even in 2030, gas will have surpassed coal to become the world's second-largest source of energy, supplying 26% of world needs to oil's 32%, according to Exxon's annual Outlook for Energy, scheduled to be released Thursday.
Gas usage is expected to grow three times as fast as that of oil and coal as developing countries scramble to bring electricity to billions of people and rich nations replace aging coal-fired power plants with gas-fired facilities, the report says.
Clean-burning natural gas represents less of a global warming threat than coal or oil. Other low-emitting forms of energy, such as nuclear and renewable power, also are expected to expand their share of the world's energy pie.
Exxon's Outlook for Energy is closely watched, as it underpins the strategy of the world's largest publicly-traded oil company. "It provides the foundation for the different [Exxon] businesses to present their investment plans," says Bill Colton, Exxon's vice president for corporate strategic planning.
It's no surprise that Exxon is enthusiastic about natural gas. The company last year became the largest gas producer in the U.S. when it bought XTO Energy Inc. for $25 billion. XTO was one of several North American companies that perfected a method to extract gas economically by fracturing tight rock formations called shales. Exxon also bought small shale producer Ellora Inc. for $695 million and natural-gas shale assets from Petrohawk Energy Corp. for $575 million.

Editors' Deep Dive: Natural Gas Grows in Importance

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But Exxon's optimism comes amid some Wall Street criticism of its recent bets on natural gas, which has traded cheaply since the financial crisis started, while oil has surged of late and thus has been more profitable.
Other energy forecasts aren't as bullish about natural gas as Exxon's. The International Energy Agency and the U.S. Energy Information Administration put natural gas's global market share at slightly above 22% in 2030, behind oil and coal in supplying the world's needs.
Natural-gas prices have fallen to about $4.49 a million BTUs this month from above $13 a million BTUs in mid-2008. Oil prices, on the other hand, were trading as low as $40 a barrel in early 2009 as a result of the recession, but have recovered steadily. On Wednesday, crude futures in New York settled at $87.33 a barrel, up $1.14.
Nonetheless, Exxon, which has its roots in John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil, believes the world is tilting toward a natural-gas dominated future and is preparing to embrace it.
Some other large Western energy companies are heading that direction. Earlier this month,Royal Dutch Shell PLC Chief Executive Peter Voser said in an internal publication the Anglo-Dutch oil giant in 2012 would for the first time produce more natural gas than oil.
Mary Barcella, a consultant with IHS Cambridge Energy Research Associates, says that new technology making shale-gas discoveries economic "is a game changer" that revolutionized the once waning U.S. natural-gas business; Exxon and others intend to take that expertise to other regions of the globe.
Exxon's Mr. Colton says shale and other unconventional types of gas began playing a prominent role in the company's predictions about three years ago, when it realized that a major technological shift had occurred.
Exxon forecasters say that the world will consume about 35% more energy in 2030 than in 2005, driven by population growth and the rapid enrichment of developing nations, especially in the Asia-Pacific region. Mr. Colton's team analyzed statistics for 100 countries and Exxon scientists gauged potentially disruptive technologies, such as electric-car batteries.
Natural gas will quench 26% of the world's demand, up from about 21% in 2005, the report says. That means that gas usage will double from 2000 levels, but a supply crunch is unlikely, due to the newfound abundance of the fuel, says Mr. Colton. "The world is looking at a very robust supply of natural gas," he said.
—Russell Gold contributed to this article.
Write to Angel Gonzalez at angel.gonzalez@dowjones.com

China to Renew Bid to Curb Steel Industry's Sprawl

JANUARY 27, 2011    THE WALL STREET JOURNAL





BEIJING—China will renew its push to reduce the production capacity of its sprawling steel industry, as its largest steel mills continued last year to make only limited progress in the industry's consolidation, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said.
The country produced 626.7 million metric tons of crude steel last year, an all-time high that refocused attention on limited effectiveness of policy tightening and government's attempts over the years to cull the industry's size.
The 10 largest steel mills raised their combined contribution to the country's total steel output to 48% last year from 45% in 2009, and a total of 179 million tons of obsolete steel and iron capacity was shut down, he said.
"We should keep tight control of expansion in the highly energy-consuming [and polluting] industry," he said in a briefing to reporters.
The ministry's data shows that the top 10 steel mills' crude steel output increased slightly in volume terms last year. At 45% of 2009 output, the top 10 mills would have produced 259.6 million tons of crude steel. At 48% of 2010 output, their production would have been 300.8 million tons.
In addressing the reach of the government's policy, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology spokesman Zhu Hongren sought to make a distinction between permitted and illicit output capacity additions.
"In referring to overcapacity, we are not talking about mere 'expansion of capacity,' but blind expansion," he said, without elaborating.
China's steel output capacity has reached 700 million tons, Mr. Zhu said.
The cement industry, beset by similar issues, also saw output rise last year by 15.5% to 1.8 billion tons, he said.

2011年1月26日 星期三

億光 嗆奪iPhone大單

2011.01.27   【經濟日報╱記者詹惠珠/台北報導】





繼晶電(2448)打入蘋果iPad供應鏈後,億光(2393)也接獲宏碁和華碩等平板電腦發光二極體(LED)背光源訂單。億光不排除採用豐晶的晶片,從日系大廠中搶下iPhone背光源訂單。
由於日圓升值、日廠零組件價格高,蘋果有意在台灣尋求LED第二供應商。晶電與豐田合成交叉授權、並成立子公司豐晶後,未來豐晶的晶粒可在全球通行無阻。業界預估,LED有可能繼光學鏡頭之後,在蘋果相關產品取代日系廠商。
蘋果iPad掀起平板電腦風潮,宏碁、華碩、仁寶等筆記型電腦廠及手機廠紛將投入。由於競爭者眾,為了增加產品的競爭力,iPad開始要採用具有成本優勢的台灣LED,日本豐田合成未來可能會釋單給晶電,讓晶電成為第一家打入蘋果iPad供應鏈的LED廠。
晶電副總兼發言人張世賢昨(26)日表示,去年平板電腦只有iPad一家,採用成本較高的日亞化或豐田合成的LED作背光源,仍可享有高毛利率。今年百家爭鳴,業者有成本下降壓力,日商釋出代工訂單的機率相當高。
市調機構預估,今年全球平板電腦市場約4,500萬到5,000萬台。據了解,一台平板電腦平均使用30顆LED,以市場規模5,000萬台估算,今年LED背光需求上看15億顆。
外資看好平板電腦屬於特殊規格,入行門檻高,連續三天買超晶電近1.5萬張。晶電昨天股價上漲3.5元、收106.5元。
除了晶電在平板電腦傳出捷報外,億光也證實,接獲華碩和宏碁等品牌廠的平板電腦訂單。台灣平板電腦製造商優先採購台灣的LED,以期在價格與iPad一較高下。

Chip Maker UMC Posts Higher Profit

JANUARY 26, 2011 THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

By LORRAINE LUK
TAIPEI—United Microelectronics Corp., the world's second-largest contract chip manufacturer by revenue, reported a 46% gain in fourth-quarter net profit because of strong growth in wafer shipments, but said Wednesday that economic uncertainties in the U.S. and emerging markets may weigh on demand for chips this year.
Net profit for the three months ended Dec. 31 rose to 6.42 billion New Taiwan dollars (US$219 million) from NT$4.40 billion, slightly above the average NT$6.04 billion forecast of eight analysts polled earlier. Revenue rose 13% to NT$31.32 billion from NT$27.75 billion.
Increasing popularity of smartphones and tablet personal computers have helped chip sales, supporting the continued recovery of the semiconductor industry from the global financial crisis. But currency pressures and a possible weakening in demand later this year could weigh on earnings growth in coming quarters, analysts said.
"After experiencing growth momentum for over a year and a half at UMC, we anticipate first-quarter revenue to decline slightly due to the strengthening of the local currency against the U.S. dollar and certain customers undergoing product and technology-node transitions," UMC Chief Executive Shih-Wei Sun said at an investors' conference after the company issued the fourth-quarter results. Technology upgrades by customers will affect the company's product mix and weigh on revenue in the current quarter, he said.
Mr. Sun said demand for chips used in tablets and smartphones remains strong and will drive the company's growth this year, though UMC said it expects wafer shipments to decline in the low single-digits in the first quarter from the previous quarter. It shipped 1.13 million eight-inch-equivalent wafers in the fourth quarter, down from 1.20 million in the third quarter.
"[Demand from the] consumer segment will be relatively weaker than computer and communications segments in the current quarter. We also closely monitor the uncertainties caused by the unemployment rate in the U.S. and economic development in the emerging countries," he said.
UMC said its gross profit margin narrowed to 32.1% in the fourth quarter from 32.6% in the third quarter. It said it expects its first-quarter gross margin to be above 25% and its average selling price to fall by a low to mid single-digit from the fourth quarter. It didn't disclose its fourth-quarter figure.
Mr. Sun said the company plans capital spending of US$1.8 billion this year, the same amount as last year, to expand production using 40-nanometer process technology and to migrate to the more advanced 28 nanometer process technology. A chip's transistor components and the spaces between them are measured in nanometers. The smaller and more closely transistors can be packed together, the more powerful the chip.
He said 40-nanometer chips will be the company's main revenue driver this year and that he expects the chips to account for 10% of UMC's revenue in the second half of the year, up from 5% last year.
UMC's capacity utilization rate was 94% in the three months ended Dec. 31, down from over 99% in the previous three months. The firm said it expects its utilization rate to fall to around 90% in the first quarter.
To seek a new growth driver, UMC has joined other major technology companies in Taiwan, including larger rival Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. and AU Optronics Corp., in expanding into the fast-growing renewable energy market. UMC has invested more than US$1 billion in companies including solar module company NexPower Technology, solar cell maker Topcell Solar International Co. and solar product trading company SolarGate Technology Corp.
Chief Financial Officer Chitung Liu said he expects the company's solar energy business to contribute a profit in one to two years.
HSBC on Wednesday raised UMC's target price to NT$20.00 (69 U.S. cents) from NT$16.50, citing better-than-expected first-quarter guidance and higher estimates for 2011. It forecast revenue growth of 10% this year with less acute margin pressure due to relatively lower depreciation costs.

Investors Make Early Call on Verizon

JANUARY 26, 2011   the wall street journal





As far as would-be Verizon iPhone users are concerned, the best is yet to come. From an investor standpoint, however, it's arguably already here.
Verizon shares, after rising 1.6% Tuesday, are trading at 16 times the mid-point of 2011 earnings per share implied by the company's guidance for 5%-8% growth, adjusted for various items. That's hardly cheap: Since 1996, according to UBS Securities analyst John Hodulik, Verizon shares have on average traded at about 15 times the coming 12 months' earnings.
Investor enthusiasm is understandable. Next month's launch of an iPhone on Verizon Communications' majority-owned Verizon Wireless, along with the recent launch of Verizon's next-generation LTE high-speed wireless network, are two huge positives for the carrier.
[Verizonherd]Bloomberg News
Indeed, Verizon is projecting its smartphone penetration among contract customers nearly doubles to 50% by the end of this year, from 26% at the end of 2010. Smartphone users generate double the average revenue per user than more basic phones, which don't require data plans. No surprise, then, that Verizon projects revenue growth of between 4% and 8% this year, well above 2010's 1.9%.
Whether Verizon meets its EPS growth target, though, depends partly on how it meets the smartphone penetration projections. Based simply on Verizon's 83 million contract customers as of Dec. 31, the projection implies the company signs up 20 million new smartphone customers this year. That's more than double the 2010 increase in Verizon's smartphone customer count.
The big swing factor for profit is how many of these extra phones are Apple devices, which carry higher subsidies than other smartphones. So the more iPhones sold, the lower Verizon's earnings will be this year. Next year it gets the profit benefit; indeed, the company said it expected earnings-per-share growth in 2012 to about double this year's number.
But Verizon didn't give a projection for how many iPhones it expects to sell. Executives said their earnings projections reflected the Wall Street consensus number of 11 million iPhone activations this year. That figure easily could be too low, particularly given the pent-up demand from Verizon subscribers that likely exists. AT&T, which has significantly fewer contract customers than Verizon, activated 10.3 million iPhones in 2009 and 10.9 million for the first nine months of 2010. Strategy Analytics estimates AT&T activated 16 million for all of last year.
What's more, the 11 million estimate implies Verizon expects to sell nearly 10 million other smartphones. Even with the benefit of new LTE handsets (which won't include, at least initially, the iPhone), that seems unlikely. More likely, then, a higher proportion of Verizon's new smartphone activations will be for iPhones. That would suggest Verizon's 2011 earnings will tend toward the lower end of guidance. That's good news for 2012 profits. Only thing is, priced at 13-14 times 2012 earnings, the stock reflects that already, too.
Write to Martin Peers at martin.peers@wsj.com

NEC's PC Talk With Lenovo

JANUARY 26, 2011,   the wall street journal







A personal computer tie-up between Lenovo Group and NEC can fairly be described as a win-win situation. It's just not a very big win.
The two companies are in talks, though exactly what shape things will take remains unclear. Investors may learn more when NEC reports its third-quarter profits Thursday.
There is logic behind a joint venture between the two. It would distance NEC from a marginally profitable business. NEC once accounted for half of Japan's PC market. More recently its share, measured by shipments, was down to 20%. The unit that includes PCs has the lowest operating margin of NEC's five main businesses, at 1.6% in the September-end quarter.
Last year, NEC made similar moves with its semiconductor and mobile-phone operations, dumping them into JVs as a way of diluting their impact on its bottom line, in an effort to refocus itself on cloud computing and telecommunications infrastructure.
For Lenovo, the pairing offers a chance to lower manufacturing costs—by taking advantage of an increased scale of production—and possibly gain access to NEC's wireless and cloud technology. The larger scale and the new technology could make it more competitive in the fast-growing Chinese market.
But in neither case is this deal going to be transformative. The PC business is commoditized, highly fragmented and threatened by the popularity of smartphones and tablet computers. In that environment, pairing NEC's PC business with Lenovo's may not provide enough of an increase in scale to substantially bolster margins.
Consider that Taiwan's Acer Group, which shipped nearly 25% more PCs than Lenovo in 2010, according to data from IDC, is expected by analysts to have generated an operating profit margin of 2.9% in 2010, according to data from Starmine. True, that's better than the 1.8% analysts expect from Lenovo, but even adding NEC's entire PC business would leave Lenovo short of Acer's production levels.
"Partially correct"—that's the PC answer to whether this deal would be a win-win.
Write to James Simms at james.simms@dowjones.com