Taiwan’s 19 major IT companies cut revenue by 8.5% in February

International Business News – The downturn in the performance of Taiwanese companies that supply a large number of semiconductors and products to IT giants such as Apple in the U.S. is becoming more apparent by the day. The combined operating income of 19 major IT companies, including Hon Hai Precision Industry, fell 8.5% year-on-year in February. The decline in demand for personal computers and smartphones, centered on mainland China and the United States, presents a situation in which it is difficult to foresee a period of recovery.

The Nihon Keizai Shimbun surveyed the results of 19 major companies in Taiwan’s IT-related fields (major listed companies in Asia, Asia300), and the combined operating revenue in February was NT$1.0178 trillion. Only 4 out of all 19 companies achieved revenue growth, while 15 companies saw revenue decline.

Hon Hai, which has the highest revenue among the 19 companies, saw an 11.6 percent drop in revenue. The mainland production of Apple’s smartphone “iPhone” was sluggish due to low demand. Although production recovered in January, revenue fell into negative growth again after November and December 2022.

In terms of semiconductor-related areas, revenue of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), the largest manufacturer, rose 11.1%, but revenue growth continued to slow after the fall of 2022.

The world’s foundry giant United Microelectronics Corporation (UMC), which previously performed strongly due to a shortage of automotive semiconductors, saw its revenue decline by 18.6 percent. MediaTek, Taiwan’s largest player in semiconductor design and development, saw a sharp 24.3 percent drop in revenue.