Recently, many semiconductor manufacturers have released their financial results for the second quarter of 2020. As wafers, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd, United Microelectronics and Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation have become the focus of attention. To this end, semiconductor industry observation will be the three major wafer manufacturers multi-dimensional comparison, to take you in-depth understanding of Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation in the end at what level.

Aspects of financial figures

July sixteenthTaiwan Semiconductor ManufacturingThe financial results for the second quarter of 2020 were disclosed through the official website: revenue of 310.7 billion New Taiwan dollars (73.82 billion yuan), an increase of 28.9 percent over the same period last year, and net profit of 120.82 billion New Taiwan dollars, an increase of 81 percent over the same period last year. In the current quarter, the operating gross profit margin was 53.0%, and the net operating profit rate was 42.2%.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd shipped 2.98 million wafers in the second quarter, up 2.1 per cent from the previous quarter.

United MicroelectronicsThe operating report for the second quarter of 2020 was also released.

According to the report, the consolidated operating income in the second quarter was NT $44.39 billion (about RMB 10.507 billion), up 5.0% from NT $42.27 billion in the previous quarter and 23.2% from NT $36.03 billion in the same period last year.

Wang Shi, general manager of United Microelectronics Corp, pointed out that in the second quarter, the combined operating profit rate was 13.2%, the overall capacity utilization increased to 98%, and wafer shipments reached 2.22 million pieces of about eight-inch wafers. Capacity utilization reached 98%, up from the previous quarter.

The growth in wafer shipments mainly reflects the demand for wireless connections, display drivers and flash memory controllers IC in computer-related areas, as well as inventory replenishment in the consumer market.

Semiconductor Manufacturing International CorporationRevenue reached $938 million (about 6.528 billion yuan) as of June 30, 2020, up 4% from a month earlier and 19% from a year earlier, while gross profit was $249 million, up 6.4% from a month earlier, up 64.5% from a year earlier, according to the second-quarter results.

Production capacityAccording to the financial report for the second quarter, Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation's monthly production capacity increased from 476000 in the first quarter of this year to 480000 in the second quarter of this year. The company said it was mainly due to the net impact of the increase in production capacity and the adjustment of production plans of the Shanghai 300mm fab controlled in the second quarter of 2020.

Capacity utilization rateRising from 98.5% in the first quarter of this year to 98.6% in the second quarter of this year, it can be seen that the company's orders are in short supply and the entire capacity is operating at full capacity.

Capital expenditureIn 2020, planned capital expenditure increased from about US $4.3 billion to about US $6.7 billion. Specifically, expenditure reached $1.34 billion in the second quarter and $780 million in the first quarter. Based on this, capital expenditure in the second half of the year exceeded $4 billion, and the increased capital expenditure will be mainly used to expand the production capacity of machinery and equipment. This means that Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation's production capacity may be effectively released in the second half of the year.

It's not hard to find.In terms of overall revenue, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd is a well-deserved eldest brother.Neither United Microelectronics nor Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation can compete with it.Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd is also the highest in terms of year-on-year growth, but United Microelectronics ranks first in month-on-month growth.

Proportion of revenue from advanced processes

In Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd's second-quarter financial report, according to the split of downstream applications, smartphones are still the main downstream (47%), while the rest are HPC (33%), IoT (8%), DCE (5%) and automobile (4%). Affected by public health events, most sectors decreased month-on-month, while HPC high-performance computing business rose 12% month-on-month, benefiting from the rapid growth in demand for data centers after public health events. Drive the total revenue to achieve month-on-month growth.

In terms of revenue composition, 7nm process shipments accounted for 36% of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd's wafer sales in the second quarter. X 16nm process shipments accounted for 18% of wafer sales in the whole quarter. Revenue from overall advanced processes (including 16nm and more advanced processes) reached 54 per cent of wafer sales for the whole quarter.

According to the company at the legal meeting, the 3nm process is expected to produce at risk in 2021 and in the second half of 2022. Compared with the 5nm process, 3nm will bring a 70% increase in density, a 15% rate gain and a 25% increase in power.

Driven by 5G smartphones and high-performance computing, 5nm is expected to grow strongly in the second half of the year, contributing about 8 per cent of revenue for the year, but lower than the 10 per cent previously mentioned at the first-quarter conference. The 3nm process is expected to produce at risk in 2021 and in the second half of 2022, resulting in a 70 per cent increase in density, a 15 per cent rate gain and a 20-25 per cent increase in power compared to the 5nm process.

In United Microelectronics's second-quarter results, according to the application category, the main revenue came from 51% of communications and 24% of consumer products. Compared with the first quarter, the proportion of communications decreased by 3%, while the proportion of consumer products remained unchanged.

In terms of revenue structure, 28nm orders received by United Microelectronics (ranked fourth) soared in the second quarter, widening the gap between United Microelectronics and Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (ranked fifth). The gap in revenue from advanced processes widened from 1.2% in the first quarter to 3.9% in the second quarter. In terms of revenue composition, the 40nm process still accounts for 23%, a month-on-month decline.

In the financial results of the second quarter, Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation's revenue from the application classification, the main revenue from communications and consumer areas. Dr. Zhao Haijun and Dr. Liang Mengsong, Co-CEO of Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation, commented: "although the macro environment is still changing, chip demand is still strong.

From the perspective of income structure, Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation advanced process (28nm and below) business income share further increased, but made some adjustments in the disclosure details. Since the measurement of 14nm in the four seasons of last year, the company has accounted for the share of revenue of 14nm and 28nm, but in its just-disclosed second-quarter results, the company disclosed that the revenue share of the two technology processes reached 9.1% in the current quarter, up 1.3% from the previous quarter and 5.3% from the same period a year earlier.

At the same time, the 0.15 nm 0.18 node is still one of the company's main sources of revenue, but the proportion of revenue in this quarter has dropped to 33.0% from 33.4% in the first quarter of this year, compared with 38.6% in the same period last year. The proportion of revenue in the 65nm node has further decreased, accounting for 32.6% in the first quarter of this year, 30.0% in the second quarter and 26.2% in the same period last year.

In terms of advanced process technology, senior executives of Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation have said that in the next few years, they will begin to see an increase in revenue from their mastery of technology. Zhao also revealed that the proportion of 14nm revenue will exceed 10 per cent next year.

Horizontally, there is still a big gap between Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation's advanced process income and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd, the global foundry leader, but it has shrunk to a certain extent compared with the first quarter. At the same time, the gap is being widened by United Microelectronics.

Seen from capital expenditure

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd said at his results conference that the company spent $4.2 billion on capital in the second quarter and raised its 2020 capital expenditure forecast to $16-17 billion.

As smartphones enter the peak shipping season and the demand for high-performance computing is growing rapidly, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd expects revenue to continue to rise in the third quarter, reaching $11.2 to $1.15 billion, an increase of 6.3% to 9.2% over the previous quarter and 12.7% to 15.8% over the same period last year. However, due to the initial mass production of 5 nm, economies of scale have not yet been achieved, and the gross profit margin in the third quarter is expected to be 50% to 52%. In dollar terms, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd's sales will grow by more than 20 per cent in 2020.

In addition, on July 3, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd announced that the fourth issue of unsecured corporate bonds this year will be issued with a total amount of NT $13.9 billion, which will be used for the construction and expansion of plant and equipment. In the first half of this year, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd issued 60 billion yuan of unguaranteed corporate bonds. The expansion of production capacity and investment in research and development indicate that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd is expected to further increase income and profits.

In United Microelectronics's second quarter financial report, it was pointed out that in the second quarter, United Microelectronics Corp's cash inflow from operating activities was NT $16.403 billion, cash outflow from investment activities was NT $7.877 billion, and cash outflow from financing activities was NT $2.947 billion. Cash and cash equivalents increased to NT $99.87 billion. The number of days in stock increased to 61 days.

United Microelectronics Corp expects a gross profit margin of about 20% in the third quarter and a capital expenditure of $1 billion in 2020.

Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation's R & D spending in the second quarter was $158 million, down 13.3% from a month earlier, and marketing / marketing expenditure was down 42.7% from a year earlier.

The financial report pointed out that the decline in R & D spending was mainly due to the lack of R & D activities in the quarter. General and administrative expenses fell by 20.0% to US $59.4 million, compared with US $74.2 million in the first quarter of 2020, mainly because the Shanghai plant, which is majority owned by Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation, entered mass production since June 2020. as a result, the expenditure related to the trial operation in the second quarter of 2020 was lower than that in the first quarter of 2020.

The change in other operating income was mainly due to government project funding of $40.5 million in the second quarter of 2020, compared with $59.2 million in the first quarter of 2020.

In the earnings call, Gao Yonggang, chief financial officer of Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation, pointed out that on July 16, the company was listed in Science and Technology Innovation Board, becoming the first overseas leading enterprise to return to A-share listing by Science and Technology Innovation Board. Up to now, excluding over-allotment, this listing has raised a total of 45.7 billion yuan, which will focus on advanced and technological research and development and production capacity construction.

In the financial results of the second quarter, we do not know clearly the R & D expenditure of these manufacturers, but judging from the total expenditure, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd is still the manufacturer with the largest expenditure. At the same time, compared with the R & D points out of several listed companies over the past few years, compared with the same period last year, the average R & D expenditure rates of other comparable listed companies are 7.21%, 6.9% and 7.57%, and Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation's R & D expenditure rate is almost three times that of the same industry.

The prosperity of the industry remains high.

At present, wafer factories are optimistic about the prosperity of the industry in the third quarter.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd said at the performance presentation that 5G is the industry trend, and the demand for HPC (high-performance computers) is also very strong. All customers are actively preparing for 5G and HPC applications. In addition, the company has observed that all customers are working hard to ensure the security of their supply chain. At present, the company is dynamically working closely with customers to try to fill the capacity. "in the long run, it is still optimistic. "

Looking forward to the third quarter, Wang Shi, general manager of United Microelectronics, believes that the current market outlook shows that wafer demand is still strong. "We have seen semiconductor supply chains continue to replenish inventory in various markets to reduce the impact of uncertainty about public health events. "

Dr. Zhao Haijun and Dr. Liang Mengsong, Co-CEO of Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation, said:

Although the macro environment is still changing, demand for chips remains strong. In the second quarter, the demand for mature technology application platform was strong, the income of consumer electronics increased significantly, and the advanced process business advanced steadily. The company's capacity utilization rate remains high, expansion capacity will be gradually released, and revenue is expected to continue to grow in the third quarter. The company is committed to innovation and development, seize the opportunity of domestic and international double cycle, provide more quality products and services for more customers at home and abroad, and promote the continuous growth of the company.

Generally speaking, there is still a big gap between Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd. Compared with United Microelectronics Corp, United Microelectronics Corp is trying to open the gap, and Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation needs to be cautious. Specific performance in the market share, revenue and profits, technical strength and R & D strength and other aspects, through the data comparison at a glance.