NAND flash device controller and module supplier Phison Electronics has reported better-than-expected profits for the first quarter of 2021, and is optimistic about its operations in the second quarter.

Taiwan's memory modules specialist Team Group saw its SSD shipments for April surge over 70% on year, driven the rapidly mounting mining fever for new cryptocurrency Chia, and expects sales to peak in the third quarter.

Niche-market memory IC design house Elite Semiconductor Memory Technology (ESMT) saw its net profit climb over 100% on both sequential and on-year bases to NT$645 million (US$23.22 million) in the first quarter of 2021.

NAND flash device controller and module supplier Phison Electronics saw its cumulative 2021 revenue through April increase about 9% on year to NT$17.98 billion (US$647.5 million), higher than those generated during the same period in previous years.

Specialty DRAM and flash chipmaker Winbond Electronics has reported net profits jumped 350% sequentially to NT$1.59 billion (US$56.8 million) in the first quarter, with EPS reaching a 10-quarter high of NT$0.40.

Worldwide semiconductor revenues are forecast to surge 12.5% to US$522 billion in 2021, driven by continued-robust growth in consumer, computing, 5G and automotive semiconductors, according to IDC.

Memory device controller supplier Silicon Motion Technology has raised its revenue outlook this year, after posting record-high revenues for the first quarter.

Driven by a resurgent memory market and relatively flat sales results from Intel, IC Insights believes that Samsung will again replace Intel as the leading semiconductor producer beginning in the second quarter of this year.

Demand for white-box servers from datacenter operators has been growing fast, with Taiwanese ODM's shipments already accounting for more than one third of the world's total server shipments in 2020, according to Digitimes Research's latest...

Memory chip makers Nanya Technology and Winbond Electronics will see their revenues boosted by rising ASPs in the second quarter, according to industry sources.

Worldwide sales of semiconductors totaled US$123.1 billion during the first quarter of 2021, up 3.6% sequentially and 17.8% from a year earlier, according to SIA.

Worldwide silicon wafer area shipments increased 4% sequentially to a record high of 3.337 billion square inches in the first quarter of 2021, according to SEMI.

Memory module house Adata Technology held over NT$10 billion (US$357.8 million) worth of inventory as of the end of first-quarter 2021 - a record high, according to company chairman Simon Chen.

Memory module house Apacer Technology intends to maintain chip inventories at high levels, judging from clear order visibility through May, according to company president CK Chang.

Fabless IC suppliers saw their combined sales register a strong 24% rise in 2020, while IDMs' grew by only 8% on year. Fabless company IC sales accounted for a record-high 32.8% of the worldwide IC sales last year, according to IC Insights.

Specialty IC foundry Vanguard International Semiconductor (VIS) has announced plans to take over the L3B plant of LCD panel maker AU Optronics (AUO), and related equipment and facilities, for NT$905 million (US$32.4 million).

Contract market prices for PC- and server-use DRAM memory will rise about 10% in May alone, despite a recent slowdown in the spot market price growth, according to sources at memory module makers.

The ICT supply chain continues to be influenced by serious component shortages and UMC is now looking to have its major clients to enter into 3-year supply agreement. Meanwhile, LCD...

Powertech Technology (PTI) plans to further expand production capacity for standard-type DRAM memory at its Xian plant in China to better serve major clients, according to the Taiwan-based OSAT.

Macronix International, a Taiwan-based maker of NOR flash and ROM memory, expects its gross margin to have hit bottom for 2021 in the first quarter and to rise through the last quarter of the year.

SK Hynix has reported operating profit climbed 37% sequentially and 66% on year to KRW1.32 trillion (US$1.19 billion) in the first quarter of 2021, while revenue grew 7% on quarter and 18% from a year earlier to KRW8.49 trillion.

Adata Technology has enjoyed a strong pull-in of SSD orders since the start of April, particularly high-capacity SSD orders, according to the memory module house.

North America-based manufacturers of semiconductor equipment posted US$3.27 billion in billings worldwide in March 2021 (three-month average basis), a record high for the third consecutive month, according to SEMI.

The crytopmining fever is sweeping across China where miners are buying out all large-capacity SSDs available on the spot market ahead of the start of trading of the new crypto coin Chia. Supply of SSDs has been constrained by shortage...

China-based cryptomining hardware makers are "panic buying" all the available large-capacity SSDs from the spot market, according to industry sources.