Hsinchu, Taiwan, June 20, 2023 – GlobalWafers convenes the annual shareholder meeting today (June 20) and elects one independent director, Dr. Ta-Hsien Lo, to join the Board of Directors. Dr. Ta-Hsien Lo serves as chairperson of Chinese Professional Management Association, distinguished expert of Industrial Technology Research Institute, and adjunct professor of the College of Technology Management, National Tsing Hua University, and has expertise in semiconductor industry and technology management. The number of independent directors of GlobalWafers accounts for one-half of the board of directors, which is superior to government regulation. By strengthening the independence, diversity and professionalism of the board of directors, GlobalWafers continues to enhance corporate governance. Regarding GlobalWafers’ merger over Crystalwise Technology Inc., Crystalwise held its shareholder meeting on June 13 and approved GlobalWafers to swap shares with Crystalwise. GlobalWafers will issue new shares as consideration payable to Crystalwise in exchange for its whole shares, and the parties tentatively expect the share swap record date to occur on November 1, 2023. Devoted in the semiconductor business for years with the unapparelled operation and management experience as well as the global sales network, GlobalWafers could accelerate GaAs, LT and LN wafers commercialization through business restructuring.
For 2022 financial results, GlobalWafers’ FY2022 consolidated revenue reached NT$70.3 billion with YoY increase of 15%; EPS of NT$35.31, increasing by NT$8.04; gross profit margin of 43.2%; operating income margin of 35.5%, all reaching the record high. GlobalWafers May 2023 revenue totaled NT$5.96 bn with 5.7% MoM; the cumulative consolidated revenue reached NT$30.21 bn, with YoY increase of 9.42%.
In 2023, the world economy is shrouded in uncertainties, leading a vague prospect. Due to inflation and weak demand in the end market, the global semiconductor market is projected to slow down in 2023, while a rebound is likely expected in 2024. In the long run, applications like 5G, HPC, AI, and automotive electronics will continue to drive the momentum for semiconductor components. The generative AI boom accelerates needs for AI chips and servers equipped with GPUs, showing enormous potential for the semiconductor development. Besides, semiconductors enable automobiles to be equipped with more electronic devices, including infotainment systems, autonomous driving, etc., simultaneously increasing the silicon content. In the meantime, SiC is propelled by the fast-growing electric vehicle market owing to its superior characteristics like high efficiencies, low switching losses and high thermal conductivities.
The semiconductor industry consumes electricity heavily. In line with the worldwide ESG trend and the government’s goal of net-zero carbon emission by 2050, issues such as power consumption and renewable energy installation capacity have drawn much attention to the semiconductor industry. In addition to the increasing requirements for green manufacturing processes among global supplier chain, Taiwan has also revised relevant laws and regulations including the “Climate Change Response Act” and “Renewable Energy Development Act “, and intends to start collecting carbon fees from enterprises. GlobalWafers is one of the few corporates in the manufacturing industry that owns renewable power plants. Up to now, the total installation capacities of GlobalWafers’ solar power plants have amounted to 41MW, which is estimated to generate nearly 50,000 MWh of electricity per year and reduce carbon emissions by 25,088 tCO2e per year, equivalent to the amount of carbon absorbed by 64 Taiwan Daan Forest Parks. Moreover, GlobalWafers possesses 17 sites over the world located in 9 countries in Asia, Europe and America that can achieve the benefits of local supply and reduce product carbon emissions. To address the ESG trend, GlobalWafers will continue to provide customers with the most efficient, effective and high-quality services, partner with customers to build up the green supply chain, driving the industrial transition towards a sustainable and green future.