TAIPEI: Taiwan’s major semiconductor materials distributors such as Topco Scientific and Wah Lee Industrial have reported revenue increases in the first 11 months of 2017 and expect better records for 2018, mainly bolstered by increasing demand for silicon wafers, photoresists, and other advanced materials by wafer foundry houses across the Taiwan Strait, according to industry sources.
Topco has announced consolidated revenues of NT$2 billion (US$66.2 million) for November, up 1.29% on year, while combined consolidated revenues for the first 11 months of 2017 went up 2.89% on year to reach NT$21.51 billion. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company is a major customer for Topco, who is the key sales agent of Japan’s Shin Etsu Group, now one of TSMC’s two major Japan suppliers of silicon wafers. Topco expects to channel sales of more silicon wafers to TSMC’s 12-inch wafer fab in Nanjing, China, which is slated to start volume production in May 2018, the sources said.
Topco has established a joint venture, Topco Quartz Products, in cooperation with Shin Etsu Quartz Products, and set up Shin-Etsu Optoelectronics and Shin-Etsu Handotai Taiwan in collaboration with Shin Etsu Group to provide Taiwan customers with semiconductor and optoelectronics materials.
At the moment, sales of semiconductor and optoelectronics materials and equipment contribute some 80% of the company’s revenues, with the remaining 20% from environmental engineering and plant engineering services. Wah Lee is now one of the major suppliers of semiconductor materials to China IC players, with revenue contribution from sales to China increasing at an annual pace of 30%.
