1. Weak demand, smart machine chip supplier performance decline in different degrees;
According to the micro-network news, the performance of several chip companies this week shows that the seasonal decline in demand for smart phones has caused a certain impact on their revenue growth.
Despite the slowdown in sales of smartphones, STMicroelectronics still showed strong momentum in the first quarter, while Austrian chipmaker Ams expects that changes in its customer's smartphone project will have major short-term impact.
ST’s revenue in the first quarter of 2018 was US$2.23 billion, an increase of 22.2% year-on-year, but down 9.8% from the previous quarter.
Carlo Bozotti, president and CEO of STMicroelectronics, who will retire on May 31, said at the press conference that although the demand for smart phones in the first half of 2018 is weak, the company still expects the company's second-quarter revenue to increase by approximately 17.5% year-on-year. , Mainly from the strong growth of the automotive, industrial and Internet of things markets.
As a result of the simulation, MEMS and sensor business revenues fell by 25%, and STMicroelectronics' revenue in the first quarter was significantly affected. The company said that this was due to the traditional off-season factors in the smart phone market and also to the imaging business. A certain amount of shock.
Looking at the other side again, ams, which provides high-performance sensor solutions, has lowered its operating profit for the second quarter based on 'production capacity not fully utilized'.
Ams stated that the underutilization of capacity was mainly due to product conversion and changes in a large customer project, which resulted in the inability of components to be produced in advance. Although ams did not reveal a specific customer identity, analysts considered the customer to be Apple. Apple ended last year. Launched iPhone X with facial recognition, optical sensors provided by ams have an important position in the field of facial recognition, which has led to a substantial increase in its performance.
However, the company later stressed that preparations for various production increases for the second half of the year are still in full swing.
The financial report showed that ams' revenue for the first quarter of this year reached $452.7 million, a year-on-year increase of 147%, but it fell 22% month-on-month, and turned a year-on-year profit. Net profit increased to $99.9 million, compared to a loss of $19.9 million in the same period last year. At the same time, the company also issued early warning information, saying that as the demand for large customers' orders weakened, it lowered the second quarter's performance expectations, and the revenue will drop to between 220 million and 250 million US dollars, which is about the first quarter. Half of it.
2. German Bosch: China's innovation capability is far from being underestimated or building a chip factory in China;
Sina Financial News Stuttgart time on April 28 (Beijing time on the 28th) news, Bosch Group Board members, Asia-Pacific business leader Terui to accept an exclusive interview with Sina Finance said: In the artificial intelligence, Internet of Things-related innovation industry, China It is already the second largest country after the United States. China will not only be the company's global production base, but will also become the R&D town.
'The Chinese government has made great efforts to promote innovation. The absolute number of patent applications by Chinese companies and the rise of start-ups have all shown that China is catching up in the frontier science and technology field. When the Chinese products target the market, it is not only the domestic market. When it comes to the international market, it will naturally cause dissatisfaction in some countries. This is a natural thing. 'Terry Tyler (Frank Tyler) frankly said: 'Five years ago, no one would believe that this will happen so fast, China’s Technological innovation capabilities are far from underestimated. '
Dirk Hoheisel, a member of Bosch's board of directors, did not agree that the United States is a leader in high-end technology. When he accepted an interview with Sina Finance, he also made it clear that: In terms of the leading nature of technology itself, the United States is definitely not a world leader. German companies and American companies, Japanese companies At a level, it is unreasonable to say that the United States leads global technology. In China, Baidu (251.93, 13.24, 5.55%) and many companies are cooperating to develop new technologies, including Bosch. China’s technological level has increased. The speed is very fast, and there is a strong reserve of talents for electronic engineers. It also excels in the field of artificial intelligence and will not lag behind in the future.
At the same time, Terry also bluntly said: It is undeniable that China really needs to improve its technical capabilities in the semiconductor field because there are very few products available for purchase in the high-end chip segment, and Chinese companies have spent huge sums to import similar products. If a trade war breaks out, the resources that companies stationed in China can purchase will be directly constrained. This is not good news for the business community.
Advertising is a long-term plan. Bosch has already begun to make up for high-end chips and produces its own high-end chips. Terry told Sina Finance: In the rainy days, Bosch has invested 1 billion euros in Germany's 'Silicon Valley' Dresden to build the most advanced chip factory. A fully automated 300mm silicon wafer production line is planned to be put into production after three years. This is the largest investment in the company's 130-year history.
Tairui revealed to Sina Finance: 'I believe that in 2 to 4 years, China will be one of the most powerful candidates when planning to build another chip to build a new factory.'
'In the field of technology investment, China, Singapore, and Germany are three very important regional segments for similar investment in equipment. Of course, we will also rely on the support of existing industry leaders. 'Terry said.
Currently, about 10% of Bosch's approximately 60,000 employees in China are dedicated to research and development. Terry believes that the proportion of employees in R&D is high, which means that with the development of the 'localization' strategy, Bosch will It will not only build a plant in China, use China as a production base, but also transform China into an important R&D base. This will in the long run fully guarantee the technical needs of the local community.
3. Bloomberg: TSMC plans to invest 13.5 billion US dollars to expand the Hsinchu plant area;
According to Bloomberg News, TSMC plans to invest 13.5 billion U.S. dollars to expand the Hsinchu plant area, intending to revive growth momentum as the global smartphone market slows down.
TSMC spokesman Sun Youwen told Bloomberg by phone that TSMC is waiting for the environmental assessment and the government's assistance in obtaining land. Therefore, the plan is still in the preliminary stage. Hsinchu is the headquarters of TSMC and the main wafer production base, including the R&D center.
In an exclusive interview with the Taiwan Economic Daily, Investment Commissioner Zhang Mingbin revealed that a local semiconductor company is planning to invest 40 billion yuan to build a 12-inch wafer factory in the Zhuke Causeway Park. The investment case is "Everything is ready, and only the east wind is owed. ”
TSMC’s revenue outlook for the quarter ended last week was well below analysts’ expectations, causing technology stocks from Apple to STMicroelectronics to fall. TSMC is expanding into new markets such as cryptocurrency mining equipment, but with the development market saturated and replacing The cycle lengthened and it faced a slowdown in the demand for smart phone manufacturers.
4. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd., the world's most advanced GaN wafer process
Benefited from 5G's imminent entry into commercial and automotive electronics, the Internet of Things has become a general trend. The third-generation semiconductor materials, GaN and SiC, have entered a rapid growth phase. International IDM's high-end products have entered the industry in succession. The three generations of semiconductor material manufacturing process, TSMC, the world's advanced GaN production process increased the amount of film, this, next two years into the harvest period.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. and the world's advanced companies have been developing GaN process technology for many years, and the technology has matured into mass production. At present, TSMC's 6-inch production capacity has opened up GaN manufacturing process to provide Deutsche Telekom’s Dialog output power conversion chip; and the world’s advanced equipment and materials plant Kyma, the company's investment in GaN silicon substrate plant QROMIS, has been working together, and in the past year, it has successively opened 8-inch capacity for power management IC customers.
Dialog pointed out that the GaN production power conversion controller has high efficiency, small size, and higher power and excellent characteristics, bringing the world's fastest transistors. Topology industry research shows that GaN and SiC in addition to high voltage resistance In addition to the features, they also have the advantages of high temperature resistance and high frequency operation, which not only can significantly reduce the chip area, but also simplify the design of peripheral circuits.