United Microelectronics (NYSE: UMC) reported Q4 EPS of $0.06, $0.03 better than the analyst estimate of $0.03. Revenue for the quarter came in at $1.18 billion versus the consensus estimate of $1.18 billion.

Mr. Po-Wen Yen, CEO of UMC, said, "In the fourth quarter, foundry revenue grew 3.7% sequentially to NT$34.74 billion. This figure includes a one-time 40nm licensing fee from Fujitsu, lifting gross and operating margins to 30.2% and 14.6%, respectively. Overall capacity utilization rate remained at 93%, bringing shipments to 1.43 million 8-inch equivalent wafers. Our 28nm technologies represented 7% of our foundry revenue in 4Q14. Shipments from our 28nm gate-last, High-K Metal Gate process exceeded that of 28nm poly-SiON wafers. Excluding the Fujitsu 40nm licensing fee, UMC's 2014 foundry operating profit grew 74% from the previous year. This rise in profitability was mainly driven by double-digit percentage growth in wafer shipments and partly due to the rapid production ramp of 28nm, which accounted for 3% of total 2014 revenue. Our collaborative technology efforts with our partners will enable UMC to deliver additional manufacturing solutions to fulfill new product specs, strengthening our position in the IC supply chain to take advantage of the continued momentum in market demand."

CEO Yen continued, "The Taiwan government authorities recently approved UMC's application to invest in a 12" joint venture fab in Xiamen, China. This investment will create opportunities for UMC to benefit from China's enormous chip requirements by bringing us closer to the Chinese semiconductor supply chain. The cooperation highlights UMC's differentiated approach of global expansion, proven through Singapore's Fab12i and SuZhou's Fab8N successfully achieving economy of scale while mitigating customer risks via geographic diversification. While we expand production sites worldwide, we are also focusing on continuous organic growth by deploying additional capacity at our Tainan site. As such, we will budget 2015 CAPEX for approximately US$1.8 billion. Our 2015 CAPEX illustrates our strong commitment to meet customers' requirements and gain additional market share through efficient execution and strategic alliances. UMC's global expansion efforts, driven by manufacturing excellence, will strengthen customer services with increased operating scale to enhance corporate financial earnings and deliver long-term returns to our shareholders."

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