UMC posts yet another sales drop for February
By Colleen Taylor -- EDN, March 8, 2007
Taiwan-based foundry United Microelectronics Corp. posted yet another sales slide in February. The company today posted unaudited net sales of $219.4 million (7.2 billion new Taiwan dollars), down 12.1 percent from January's sales of $250.12 million (8.23 billion TD) and down 3.74 percent from February 2006.
February's sales are by no means an anomaly to the foundry, which has been suffering from a string of declining revenue reports since September, when it posted $279 million (9.23 billion TD) in sales, nearly 2 percent lower than its August numbers.
As a worldwide inventory backup continued to plague the semiconductor industry, the company went on to post even lower numbers in October with sales of $276.2 million (9.05 billion TD), and then again saw a decline in November with revenues of $269 million (8.7 billion TD). UMC closed out 2006 with yet another dismal month, sliding down another 3.66 from November with sales of sales of $256.4 million (8.37 billion TD.)
At least UMC does not have to fret about keeping up with the Joneses. The inventory crunch has wreaked similar havoc on the foundry's chief rival, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. (TSMC). Last month, TSMC posted January unconsolidated net sales of $632.25 million (20.85 billion TD), a decrease of 6.8 percent from December's sales and a decrease of 20.3 percent from January 2006's sales. TSMC has been on a sales slide mirroring UMC's since October, when it reported $818 million (26.85 billion TD) in revenue for the month, essentially flat with its September sales. TSMC has not yet posted its February revenues.
