United Microelectronics Clocks 35% Revenue Growth In Q1; Wafer Shipments Decline 1.3% Sequentially

United Microelectronics Corp UMC reported first-quarter FY22 revenue growth of 34.7% year-on-year to $2.22 billion, missing the consensus of $2.26 billion.
Revenue contribution from 40nm and below technologies represented 38% of wafer revenue.
Wafer shipments declined 1.3% Q/Q to 2,513K, while quarterly capacity grew to 2,420K 8-inch equivalent wafers. The overall utilization rate exceeded 100%.
Capacity will grow in Q2 to 2,528K 8-inch equivalent wafers, driven by the 28nm capacity expansion at 12A P5.
Revenue from Asia-Pacific decreased to 64%, while business from North America increased to 22% of sales versus the prior quarter.
Business from Europe was 8% while the contribution from Japan remained at 6%.
Margin: The gross margin expanded 1,690 basis points to 43.4%.
Earnings per ADS of $0.281 beat the consensus of $0.220.
The company generated $1.05 billion in operating cash flow and held $6.02 billion in cash and equivalents.
Co-President Jason Wang said, "We started 2022 with solid first quarter, as strong wafer demand kept our fabs operating at full capacity. Although wafer shipments declined slightly, higher average blended pricing lifted our overall revenue."
Outlook: UMC expects quarter-over-quarter growth of 4-5% in wafer shipments and gross profit margin to be approximately 45% for Q2.
Price Action: UMC shares closed lower by 5.06% at $7.50 on Tuesday.