Taipei, July 3, 2009 (CENS)--United Microelectronics Corp. (UMC) has recently won foundry contracts from Qualcomm, Broadcom, Marvel and Nvidia using its 65-nanometer process, helping the No.1 foundry in Taiwan generate more sales.

Industry watchers attributed UMC`s increased receipt of 65nm contracts mostly to lower cost than that of TSMC`s and low-power consumption. They said UMC is gaining ground in the 65nm market, building up pressure on TSMC, and raising the possibility that selling prices of this process will plunge sometime this quarter.

Chip-making equipment suppliers pointed out that many of TSMC`s foremost customers, including Qualcomm, Broadcom and Marvell, have begun contracting 65nm orders to less-expensive suppliers, including UMC, Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing Ltd. and Semiconductor Manufacturing International Co.

Industry insiders estimate that UMC`s capacity utilization rate to be anywhere between 75% and 80% last quarter, higher than the company`s projected 75%, and 85% to 90% this quarter thanks in part to rising orders with 65nm and 55nm processes. The company will announce second-quarter result late this month.

UMC`s Operation Results (Q1-Q3, 2009)

	Q1	Q2 (forecast)	Q3(forecast)
Revenue	NT$10.8B	NT$23.9B	NT$27.1B
Gross Margin Rate	-40.0%	21.2%	23.3%
Operating Income	-NT$7.3B	NT$1.9B	NT$3.1B
After-Tax Income	-NT$8.1B	NT$1.1B	NT$3.5B
EPS	-NT$0.64	NT$0.10	NT$0.32

Sources: UMC and institutional investors

(by Ken Liu)