Japanese semiconductor equipment maker Tokyo Electron (TEL) has raised its profit forecast for the fiscal year 2024 (ending March 2025), expecting an operating profit of JPY 627 billion (approximately USD 4.3 billion), an 8% increase from its previous guidance.

Tokyo Electron contributed the strong growth trend compared to the previous fiscal year, driven by China’s significant investment in mature semiconductor nodes. The company has also raised its sales and profit outlook for the period from April to September.

For the quarter ending in June, Tokyo Electron reported revenue of JPY 555 billion, reversing a declining trend seen since 2022. Operating profit for these three months was JPY 165.7 billion.

Source: TEL

The past year, to Tokyo Electron, has been in turbulence year, as initial optimism from AI demand and the semiconductor manufacturing industry was tempered by U.S. export restrictions.

Regarding the matter, Hiroshi Kawamoto, finance division officer of Tokyo Electron, stated in a conference call that there are currently no signs of the U.S. implementing stricter restrictions on chip-making tools, while the company will continue to closely monitor the situation.

As of the quarter ending in March, over 47% of its revenue came from China due to increased equipment stockpiling in anticipation of potential U.S. sanctions. In the recent quarter, nearly 50% of revenue was generated from the Chinese market.

Source: TEL

Looking ahead to the next fiscal year (FY2025), Tokyo Electron expects double-digit growth, driven by strong demand for AI servers and an increase in AI-enabled PCs and smartphones.

This resurgence in demand is anticipated to boost the market. The company expects further expansion in DRAM production and a recovery in NAND investment due to inventory adjustments. However, investment in advanced logic and foundry services is expected to offset the slowdown in mature process technologies.

China’s two major semiconductor foundries, Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC) and Hua Hong Semiconductor, released their Q2 2024 financial results on August 8.

Both companies reported sharp declines in net profit. SMIC, the leading foundry, saw its Q2 revenue increase by 21.8% year-over-year to USD 1.901 billion, but its net profit fell by 59.1% to USD 165 million.

Moreover, SMIC’s financial report indicates that the company expects its revenue to increase by 13% to 15% quarter-over-quarter in the third quarter, with a gross margin between 18% and 20%.

SMIC stated that its second-quarter revenue and gross margin both exceeded expectations, driven by an increase in wafer sales. Its revenue grew by 9% quarter-over-quarter to USD 1.9 billion, and the gross margin rose by 0.2 percentage points to 13.9%.

The company shipped over 2.11 million 8-inch equivalent wafers, marking an 18% increase from the previous quarter. However, the average selling price per wafer declined by 8% due to changes in the product mix.

On the other hand, Hua Hong Semiconductor’s Q2 revenue decreased by 24.2% year-over-year to USD 478.524 million, primarily due to a decline in average selling prices, though this was in line with expectations. Net profit dropped by 91.5% to USD 6.673 million. The gross margin stood at 10.5%.

Hua Hong Semiconductor’s financial report projects that third-quarter revenue will be between USD 500 million and 520 million, with a gross margin of approximately 10% to 12%.

Hua Hong Semiconductor’s President, Junjun Tang, further noted that the global semiconductor market is experiencing a gradual recovery from its bottom. After several quarters of sustained weakness, there are signs of stabilization and recovery in certain areas, driven by sectors like consumer electronics. The company’s second-quarter capacity utilization improved further from the first quarter, nearing full production.

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(Photo credit: SMIC)

On August 8, 2024, Black Sesame Technologies, a company specializing in AI chip for smart vehicles, was listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

Founded in 2016, Black Sesame is a provider of automotive-grade intelligent vehicle computing chips and chip-based solutions. The company has established research and sales centers in Wuhan, Silicon Valley, Shanghai, Chengdu, Shenzhen, Chongqing, and Singapore.

Currently, Black Sesame has launched two major product lines: the Huashan series designed for autonomous driving and the Wudang series focused on cross-domain computing.

The SoCs of Huashan A1000 family is designed for autonomous driving and supports BEV fusion algorithms for L3 and below application scenarios.

The Huashan® A1000 automotive-grade high-performance autonomous driving chip applies to L2+ and L3 level autonomous driving, which is currently the most widely used autonomous driving chip in Chinese mass-produced car companies and the only local chip platform capable of backing integrated domain controllers with a single chip.

It’s reported that Huashan A1000 chip has been in full mass production and adopted by several leading Chinese car manufacturers, including FAW Group, Dongfeng Group, Geely Group, and JAC Group, and has been used in mass-produced models including Lynk & Co 08, Hycan V09, Dongfeng eπ007, and its first pure electric SUV Dongfeng eπ008. The next-generation SoC, Huashan A2000, is currently under development and is expected to be launched in 2024.

The Wudang C1200 family of intelligent vehicle cross-domain computing chips was rolled out in April 2023. It has completed full testing after tape-out, with successful functional and performance verification, and sample chips are now available to customers.

As an “All in one” chip, the C1200 family targets multi-domain integration and cross-domain computing, covering core scenarios of intelligent vehicles with a single chip and thus empowering smart vehicles as a whole. Black Sesame expects to generate revenue from C1200 in 2024 and achieve mass production before 2025.

Read more

• [News] China Reportedly Demands Automakers Increase Local Chip Procurement to 25%
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(Photo credit: Black Sesame Technologies)

The General Administration of Customs of the People’s Republic of China released the import and export data for July on August 7. The total export value in July, measured in USD, was $300.5 billion, representing a 7.0% year-on-year growth. However, this figure is lower than June’s 8.6% growth and falls short of the market expectation of 9.7%. Meanwhile, the total import value reached $215.9 billion, marking a 7.2% year-on-year increase, significantly higher than June’s -2.3%.

As the world’s second-largest economy, China’s slowdown in export growth may reflect a deceleration in global economic growth. With labor markets and consumer spending in various countries continuing to show weakness, coupled with strained trade relations due to China’s previous high export volumes, it may be challenging for China’s export growth to maintain its current pace for the remainder of the year.

The increase in imports might slightly alleviate the issue of weak domestic demand. During China’s Politburo meeting held on July 30, it was mentioned that policy efforts would be made to strengthen countercyclical adjustments, promote large-scale updates of equipment and durable goods, and enhance the consumption capacity of low- and middle-income groups.

However, these policies lack detailed implementation strategies. Similar to the Third Plenary Session, phrases such as “New quality productive forces” and “high-quality development,”  have been brought up frequently, but specific measures to boost domestic demand were only briefly mentioned.

In summary, with the potential decline in export growth due to the global economic slowdown and the uncertainty surrounding domestic demand stimulus policies, China faces significant challenges in achieving its annual GDP growth target of 5%.

Read more at Datatrack

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(Photo Credit: General Administration of Customs of the People’s Republic of China)

Driven by AI demand, the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) announced on August 5 that global semiconductor sales for the second quarter of this year increased by 18.3% year-over-year and 6.5% quarter-over-quarter, reaching USD 149.9 billion.

SIA data shows that in June 2024, global semiconductor sales increased by 18.3% year-over-year and 1.7% month-over-month, reaching USD 50 billion.

In terms of sales by country or region, in June alone, the U.S. market recorded USD 14.77 billion in sales in June, posting a 42.8% year-over-year increase. Meanwhile, sales in China reached USD 15.09 billion, marking a 21.6% year-over-year increase.

Aside from the U.S. and China, the Asia Pacific and other areas saw sales of USD 12.15 billion in June, marking a 12.7% year-over-year increase. In contrast, Japan experienced a 5% decrease to USD 3.78 billion, and Europe saw an 11.2% decrease to USD 4.18 billion.

Comparing these figures to May, U.S. sales grew by 6.3%, while sales in Japan and China increased by 1.8% and 0.8%, respectively. However, European sales decreased by 1%, and sales in the Asia Pacific and other areas declined by 1.4%.

SIA President and CEO John Neuffer stated that the semiconductor market continued to perform well in the second quarter of 2024. This quarter’s sales have surpassed the record set in the fourth quarter of 2021 after a gap of two and a half years, and have also seen a sequential increase for the first time since the fourth quarter of 2023.

The SIA recently forecasted that global semiconductor sales will grow by 16% in 2024, reaching USD 611.2 billion, and will further increase to USD 687.4 billion next year, continuing to set new historical records. According to the SIA, the primary driver of this growth is the booming development of generative AI, which is boosting overall industry demand.

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(Photo credit: TSMC)