Most Taiwan makers of passive components are conservative about their revenue performance for the fourth quarter of 2021 due to power cuts in China and the seasonality, according to industry sources.
Some makers of MLCCs, chip resistors and inductors can, at most, manage to maintain flat shipments in the quarter, and others may see their shipments experience higher sequential falls than estimated, given that their clients are moving to reduce inventory levels before year-end checks and that power restrictions in China are affecting their normal production there, the sources said.
Leading maker Yageo has given a guardedly positive outlook for its fourth-quarter shipments of specialty MLCCs for automotive and industrial control applications, bolstered by strong demand from both segments though actual shipments may remain affected by shortage of chips, the sources said.
Yageo can still maintain normal production at its largest complex in China, not located in areas subject to power cuts, but it can hardly stay immune to impact of power supply reduction on downstream supply chains, the sources said.
The company’s September revenue rose 0.1% sequentially and 28% on year reaching NT$9.81 billion (US$348.86 million), and third-quarter sales expanded 6% sequentially and 33.8% on year to NT$29.386 billion, with the revenue gains mainly driven by significant product portfolio improvements, the sources continued.
Walsin Technology saw its September revenue slip 7% sequentially and 3.53% on year to NT$3.437 billion, and its third-quarter sales dropped 5.6% sequentially but increased 6.4% on year reaching NT$10.997 billion. Shortage of chips, container jams and power cuts combined to deter clients from taking delivery of shipments, the sources said.
Despite conservative shipment prospects for fourth-quarter 2021, Walsin is still building its new plant in Kaohsiung, southern Taiwan for production of car-use MLCCs and lower temperature co-fired ceramic (LTCC) filters, and will focus its investment in capacity expansions for automotive chip resistors and MLCCs at its plant in Malaysia.