Electronic Component Distributors Concerned as MediaTek's Q1 Revenue Falls 27.4% YoY

MediaTek, a leading electronic components manufacturer, has recently reported its revenue for March, reaching 42.958 billion New Taiwan Dollars (NTD), an increase of 41.7% from the previous month, but a decline of 27.4% compared to the same period last year. Its accumulated revenue from January to March was 95.652 billion NTD, representing a 33% year-on-year decrease.

According to the Economic Daily News, MediaTek estimated a first-quarter revenue of 93-101.7 billion NTD, with a quarterly decrease of 6% to 14% and a year-on-year decrease of 29% to 35%. The company previously stated that the majority of its customers are conservative about market demand and are cautious in inventory management. However, with inventory levels approaching normal levels, MediaTek believes that demand visibility will gradually improve in the coming months. The company expects its performance in the first quarter to be the lowest point, and it is expected to improve from the second quarter.

However, current reports from research institutions suggest that MediaTek's operational situation will not improve until the third quarter of this year, and coupled with Qualcomm's move to launch a price war in the mobile chip market, it may have an adverse effect on MediaTek's gross profit margin and profitability performance, leading to a conservative outlook for the industry.

Recently, some media outlets reported that MediaTek, as a major customer of TSMC, has reduced its shipment volume due to soaring inventory levels among many large customers, resulting in a reduction in TSMC's production capacity utilization rate in the second quarter. MediaTek has been continuously cutting TSMC's 5nm, 7nm, and 16/12nm family orders in the second quarter, affecting TSMC's capacity utilization rate.