Taiwan’s Economic Daily News reported that Samsung’s chip business profits plummeted more than 90% last quarter, but the wafer manufacturing business competing with TSMC last quarter and 2022 annual revenue was a record high, and profits also grew last year, reflecting the expansion of advanced process capacity, customers and applications are also more fragmented.
However, Samsung confessed that this quarter, it is difficult to escape the pressure of industrial inventory adjustment, will make the foundry business capacity utilization began to decline. Industry worries, Samsung fear of launching a price cut to grab a single tactic, to the detriment of TSMC, UMC and other manufacturers.
Industry analysis, the recent general decline in capacity utilization of foundries, UMC capacity utilization rate from the previous full load to about 70%, and rumors that some manufacturers have only 50% capacity utilization of some production lines, but TSMC, UMC are holding prices, TSMC this year, but also a 6% price increase, UMC is expected to be flat this quarter, the average price of products (ASP).
Taiwan media pointed out that in this context, if Samsung cut prices to grab a single, the IC design houses and integrated component (IDM) factories facing huge inventory pressure and unwilling to pay more manufacturing costs are very attractive, Samsung can not only use this to fill the capacity gap, but also help increase market share.
Samsung did not provide its foundry capacity utilization data and offer dynamics, only revealed that the industry inventory adjustment, resulting in the foundry business capacity utilization began to decline, but still expects the second half of the automotive and high-speed computing demand will bring recovery, will be the second generation of 3 nm process product competitiveness, to win new customers, and has set up advanced packaging team to support the foundry business needs.
In addition, Samsung updated the most advanced chip process information, 3 nm process yield stability, the second generation of 3 nm process is progressing rapidly, also in the development of 4 nm process for automotive applications, this year will focus on the development of 2 nm process.
