UMC has reported a 32.6% jump in quarterly operating profit following a recovery in communication and consumer electronics demand. According to the financial report published by the semiconductor foundry, quarterly revenue reached 68.73 billion New Taiwan Dollars. However, rising expansion costs in Singapore and Taiwan forced the board to increase the 2026 capital budget to 2 billion USD.
The financial results show a steady rebound after a slow start to the year. Wafer shipments increased by 10.6% compared to the previous quarter, pushing capacity utilization up to 85%. Gross margin sat at 32.5% while operating margin reached 21.8%. Net income ended up at 42.26 billion New Taiwan Dollars. This brings the earnings per share to 3.39 New Taiwan Dollars.
Looking ahead, corporate leadership expects the market recovery to hold steady. CEO Jason Wang explained that demand for computer, communication, and consumer gear remains solid. Specifically, demand for power management chips, sensors, and microcontrollers is surging. This surge is causing a major recovery in the 8 inch wafer production lines. The company expects the total capacity utilization rate to climb past 90% in the upcoming 3 months.
The chipmaker is also expanding its portfolio to target AI data centers and high speed transmission. This month, UMC completed its initial delivery of 12 inch silicon photonics production wafers. The company plans to launch a fully accessible silicon photonics process platform in 2027 to win more customer orders. Management believes that the expanding infrastructure for artificial intelligence will create long term demand for specialized chips, power regulators, and optical connectors. This includes demand for 22 and 28 nanometer nodes.
To support these goals, the board approved a larger expansion budget of 2 billion USD. This capital will fund a cleanroom expansion at the P4 facility in Singapore. The money will also go toward building 1 brand new wafer fabrication plant in Tainan, Taiwan. Purchasing advanced tools and upgrading production lines for specialized nodes will consume the remainder of the capital. These expansion projects are designed to secure long term market share as chip demand rebounds globally.
