TAIPEI, April 29 (Reuters) - Taiwanese chipmaker UMC said on Wednesday that it continues to see resilient market demand despite "headwinds" from memory chip supply shortages and the impact of the war in Iran.
CONTEXT AND DETAILS
• Going into the second quarter, the company expects strong wafer shipments supported by a rebound in demand in the communications segment as well as healthy demand across computer, consumer and industrial markets, UMC said in earnings statement.
• "While the current memory supply shortage and the ongoing conflict in the Middle East are creating certain headwinds and market volatility, UMC continues to foresee resilient market demand," CEO Jason Wang said in a statement.
• United Microelectronics Corp (UMC) focuses on more mature nodes, unlike Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), the world's largest contract chipmaker, which is investing big in the most advanced 2 and 1 nanometre technology to power artificial intelligence (AI) applications.
• On Wednesday, UMC reported first-quarter revenue of T$61.04 billion ($1.93 billion), up 5.5% from a year earlier, while net income was up 108% at T$16.17 billion.
• UMC's shares have risen 51% so far this year, outperforming a 36% gain in the broader market. The company's shares closed down 0.8% on Wednesday ahead of its earnings release.
($1 = 31.5650 Taiwan dollars)
(Reporting by Ben Blanchard and Wen-Yee Lee, Editing by Louise Heavens)
