United Microelectronics Q1 Profit Surges

(RTTNews) - Semiconductor foundry United Microelectronics Corp. (UMC) Wednesday reported a surge in first-quarter net profit attributable to stockholders to NT$3.40 billion from NT$2.29 billion last year.

Earnings per share climbed to NT$0.28 from NT$0.19 in the same quarter last year. Earnings per ADS for the quarter rose to US$0.048 from US$0.033 a year ago.

Revenue for the quarter edged up to NT$37.50 billion or US$1.29 billion, from NT$37.42 billion in the same quarter last year.

Looking ahead to the second quarter, the company anticipates wafer shipments to increase 2 to 4 percent sequentially, mainly due to growing business opportunities from wireless communication as well as computer peripheral related chip demand.

The company said its board proposed cash dividend of around NT$0.70 per share, subject to shareholders' approval. The company is currently engaged in share buyback program.