06.18.2001
2Q prognosis for UMC looking bleak

• Development: UMC issues a mid-quarter warning that 2Q01 revenue will see a sequential decline of 35%, resulting in a rare operating loss for the group.

• Analysis: 2Q01 revenue still coming up short despite recent revisions, pointing to MoM revenue decline of 8% in June. It was widely believed that May revenue would bottom-out on the back of April’s Book-to-bill (B:B) ratio exceeding 1 x.

• Primasia View: We believe the worst may be over for UMC in the current cycle. However, we remain cautious on the speed of the impending industry’s recovery.

LindaLiu@Primasia.com +886-[0]2-2547-8867