United Microelectronics Corporation reported third quarter consolidated revenue of 74.24 billion Taiwan dollars, or 2.32 billion US dollars, up 8.0 percent from the second quarter and 25.6 percent from a year earlier, the company announced on October 28. Gross margin was 34.0 percent and operating margin 25.1 percent, with third quarter operating income up 24.7 percent from the prior quarter. Net income attributable to shareholders of the parent was 16.43 billion Taiwan dollars, or 514 million US dollars, with earnings per share of 1.32 Taiwan dollars and earnings per ADS of 0.206 US dollars.
Chief executive Jason Wang said wafer shipments grew 7.3 percent to more than 1.2 million 12 inch equivalent wafers, a record high, and that overall fab utilization reached 92 percent, with several 12 inch fabs at full capacity and 8 inch operations recovering strongly. Revenue from 22 and 28 nanometre processes was 35 percent of wafer sales, and 22 nanometre revenue alone reached a record 18.3 percent, on new tape outs including display driver, automotive radar and Wi-Fi chips.
The board approved an additional capital expenditure budget of approximately 3.2 billion US dollars, set at 102,781 million Taiwan dollars in the filed capital budget resolution, to accelerate the company’s expansion schedule in Singapore and Tainan. UMC’s 2026 capital expenditure plan remains 2.0 billion US dollars.
For the fourth quarter, UMC guided to wafer shipments up by a low single digit percentage, average selling prices in US dollars firm, gross margin comparable to the third quarter, and capacity utilization in the low 90 percent range. Wang said customer engagement on advanced packaging and silicon photonics remains robust, and that the company is converting some existing capacity to meet near term unfulfilled demand in those areas.