United Microelectronics (NYSE: UMC) reported Q1 EPS of $0.016, versus ($0.02) reported last year. Revenue for the quarter came in at $1.06 billion versus the consensus estimate of $1.26 billion.

• Revenue: NT$32.58 billion (US$1.06 billion)
• Gross margin: 6.9%
• Foundry revenue from 28nm: 10%; Foundry operating margin: -4.6%
• Foundry capacity utilization rate: 83%
• Net income to stockholders of the parent: NT$1.20 billion (US$39 million)
• Earnings per share: NT$0.10; earnings per ADS: US$0.016

Jason Wang, co-president of UMC, said, “In the first quarter, foundry revenue declined 8.3% QoQ to NT$32.56 billion, leading to a foundry operating loss of 4.6%. Utilization rate was 83%, bringing wafer shipments to 1.61 million 8-inch equivalent wafers. Although overall wafer demand declined during the first quarter, we observed stable wafer shipments from the wireless communications segment, solidified by smartphone related components such as display, RF, application processor and baseband modem. We continue to build on our promise of building shareholder value, and in Q1 our Board of Directors proposed to distribute a cash dividend of approximately NT$0.58 per share, subject to shareholder approval during the annual shareholder meeting (AGM).”

Co-president Wang further commented, “Entering the second quarter of 2019, UMC will sustain its energy on its continuing transformation, which will allow us to best take advantage of improving wafer demand within wired and wireless communication segments, with smartphones, networking, and display related products currently seeing better than expected conditions. Going forward, our strategy to stay focused on developing existing logic and specialty solutions across numerous technology platforms will help us enhance our market relevance to secure future business and expand our presence in the IC industry. We are confident that by continuing to responsibly execute our technology development, capacity expansion and customer service, we can bring optimal value to the company, its shareholders, and employees.”

For earnings history and earnings-related data on United Microelectronics (UMC) click here.