Mr. Po-Wen Yen, CEO of UMC, said, “In the third quarter of 2016, UMC’s foundry revenue increased 3.2% sequentially to NT$38.05 billion. Foundry operating margin was 5.5% as wafer shipments grew to 1.57 million 8-inch equivalent wafers, with quarterly capacity utilization remaining at 89%. During the quarter, our 28nm business exceeded 20% of quarterly revenue for the first time, mainly driven by strong chip demand within the communication segment. Our new high in 28nm contribution reflects customers’ robust wafer demand at our 300mm flagship Fab 12A in Tainan, Taiwan, which has demonstrated mature technology status with consistent yields to reach economy of scale.”

“To further expand our 28nm market share into new applications, UMC has announced the availability of Faraday's 12.5G SerDes PHY on our 28HPC platform. The introduction of this IP highlights our ongoing efforts to introduce new features on UMC's 28nm process, including a wide range of high speed transfer interface IP for optical networking and other telecommunication applications.”

CEO Yen continued, “Turning our attention to the fourth quarter, we anticipate a flat outlook. We expect our Fab 12X in Xiamen, China to enter production for 40/55nm products to address the strong demand in China’s chip market. The production of Fab 12X signifies an important milestone as we enter China’s high growth IC supply chain to realize new market opportunities. Fab 12X’s location in Xiamen serves as an ideal manufacturing location for customers seeking to diversify their 12” manufacturing needs.

“We look forward to a successfully ramping production of our 12" Xiamen fab, which will strengthen UMC's global presence in the semiconductor industry. Fab 12X will continue to follow UMC’s core values and protocols in sustainable semiconductor manufacturing, which have been implemented throughout UMC’s global fabs.”