United Microelectronics Corporation (NEW)

Welcome everyone to UMC's 2024 Second Quarter Earnings Conference Call. All lines have been placed on mute to prevent background noise. After the presentation, there will be a question and answer session. Please follow the instructions given at that time if you would like to ask a question. For your information, this conference call is now being broadcast live over the internet. Webcast replay will be available within two hours after the conference is finished. please visit our website, www.umc.com, under the Investor Relations, Investors Events section. And now I would like to introduce Mr. Michael Lin, Head of Investor Relations at UMC. Mr. Lin, please begin.

Thank you and welcome to UMC's conference call for the second quarter of 2024. I am joined by Mr. Jason Wong, President of UMC, and Mr. Chi-Dong Liu, the CFO of UMC. In a moment, we will hear our CFO present the second quarter financial result, followed by our president's key message to address UMC's focus on third quarter 2024 guidance. Once our president and CFO complete their remarks, there will be a Q&A session. UMC's quarterly financial reports are available at our website. www.unc.com under the Investors Financial section. During this conference, we may make forward-looking statements based on management's current expectations and beliefs. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially, including the risk that may be beyond the company's control. For a more detailed description of these risks and uncertainties, please refer to our recent and subsequent filings with the SEC and the ROC security authorities. During this conference, you may view our financial presentation material, which is being broadcast live through the internet. Now, I would like to introduce UMCC FO, Mr. Chi-Dong Liu. to discuss UNC's second quarter 2024 financial results.

Thank you, Michael. I'd like to go through the 2Q24 investor conference presentation material, which can be downloaded or viewed in real time from our website. Starting on page 4, the second quarter of 2024, consolidated revenue was $56.8 billion, with a gross margin at 35.2%. The net income attributable to the stockholder of the parent was $13.8 billion, and earnings per ordinary share were $1.11 NT dollars. In the second quarter, our wafer shipment increased 2.5 percent quarter over quarter to 831,000 12-inch wafer equivalent in the second quarter. And utilization rate in the second quarter was 68% compared to 65% in the previous quarter. Revenue grow by 4% quarter-over-quarter to 56.8 billion NT. Other than the 2.5% QOQ wafer shipment increase, the other will help by the weaker NT dollar exchange rate. Gross margin, as we mentioned earlier, was 35.2%, or nearly $20 billion NT. With the help, minor help from the non-operating income, the total net income reached $13.77 billion, and the net income attributable to the shareholder of the parent was $13.78 billion NT. or 1.11 EPS in the second quarter. For the first half of the 2024, our revenue was almost flat compared to the same period of last year, which was $111 billion for the first six months of the year. Gross margin was around 33.1%. or 36.8 billion NT dollars. And net income margin is around 21.8% or 24.2 billion NT. EPS in the first half was 1.95 NT dollars per share. Our cash level is around 121 billion. and our total equity at the end of second quarter of 2024 was $356 billion. ASP remained flat in Q2 of 2024. In terms of revenue breakdown, Asia gained about 1% of the revenue distribution to 54%. when North America stayed unchanged at 25%. IDM declined notably from 18% in the previous quarter to 13% in Q2 2024. Communication also declined from 48% in the previous quarter to 39% in Q2. consumer and computer both grow by single digit percentage respectively. 2022-2028 revenue continued to be around 33% and 40 nanometer declined from 14% in the previous quarter to 12% in this quarter. The capacity at the 12A continues to increase, and in the third quarter of 2024, our 12A capacity will reach 400, about 1,000 12-inch equivalent wafers in the third quarter. Currently, the estimate for our 2024 CAPEX remains on change, around 3.3 billion U.S. dollars. The above is a summary of UMC results for Q2 2024. More details are available in the report, which has been posted on our website. I will now turn the call over to President of UMC, Mr. Jason Wong. Thank you, Qi Dong.