Taiwan-based memory chipmakers Winbond Electronics and Nanya Technology will likely land more short lead-time orders from PC customers in May-June, boosting their sales performance in the second quarter, according to industry sources.
The companies have experienced significant growth in order pull-ins since April. They will likely see such orders increase by 10–20% in May-June compared to those received in March-April, the sources estimated.
Industry insiders also noted that PC customers have undergone several quarters of inventory adjustments and have gradually initiated new designs-in-progress for new projects. Therefore, replenishing demand from the PC sector has begun to pick up since early May, with the trend likely to continue into July and August.
Furthermore, the sources expect the growth momentum to accelerate in the third quarter.
According to DIGITIMES Research, the global notebook shipments in the first quarter of 2023 performed better than expected, with only a quarter-on-quarter decline of 9.5%. It is expected that overall notebook shipments to grow 9% sequentially in the second quarter, buoyed by price reductions, the availability of new models, and a recovery in the education market.
Winbond president Chen Pei-ming stated that inventory levels at its PC clients have returned to normal, and most current orders have come in a rush. But Chen said that PC ODMs are not pulling orders comprehensively and instead focusing on specific components, indicating an asynchronous situation with long and short materials.
However, Chen expects PC customers to accelerate their new product development and production starting in the third quarter.
Winbond posted revenue of NT$5.684 billion for April, down 17.43% sequentially and 36.3% year-on-year.
Winbond is expected to see the utilization rates of its NOR flash lines further improve in the third quarter, thanks to its growing share in the PC BIOS market segment.
According to industry sources, Winbond has made breakthroughs in advancing to 20nm production, including an improvement in yield rates, which will pave the way for volume production in July, about six months ahead of its schedule.
Winbond is ramping up the monthly capacity of its Kaohsiung plant in southern Taiwan to 15,000 wafers from the previous 14,000 ones.
Meanwhile, Nanya saw its revenue increase for the second consecutive month, reaching NT$2.26 billion in April.
Nanya expects DRAM prices to continue to fall in the second quarter, albeit at a smaller range. However, there is a chance for related prices to bottom up in the quarter.
While receiving some rush orders from TV customers recently, Nanya noted that demand for IP Cam, network, industrial control and automotive applications has been stable and that consumer electronics will likely return to normal in the second half.
Article translated by Steve Shen
