With the opening of the semi-annual report window, a number of listed semiconductor companies have recently announced the semi-annual performance forecast for 2024. According to Eastern Wealth (10.360, -0.07, -0.67%)choice data show that as of July 11, Shenwan industry (2021, only A shares) classified semiconductor sector, there have been 23 listed companies issued performance forecasts, of which 11 pre-increase, 3 to achieve a turnaround, and a number of expected profits to achieve "double".
For the reasons for the "pre-happy" performance, the semiconductor company that has disclosed the announcement mentioned that "downstream customer demand has increased", "the gross profit margin of the company's products has gradually recovered", "new products have begun to scale shipments", "the depth of customer cooperation and the expansion of technical application fields", which also reflects the trend of recovery of the semiconductor industry from the side.
Wang Xudong, semiconductor analyst of Group Wisdom Consulting, told Securities Daily that affected by terminal demand, the global semiconductor industry experienced a "destocking" downturn cycle in 2023. In 2024, with the weak recovery of the global economy and the arrival of the inventory replenishment cycle, the semiconductor industry has gradually shown signs of recovery.
Market recovery
Drive company performance improvement
In 2023, directly affected by the downturn in demand, China's import and export of integrated circuits and its subdivided products are less than expected, and since the beginning of this year, the positive factors for the recovery of the semiconductor industry have gradually increased, and the data also provides relevant evidence. According to the General Administration of Customs data, in the first five months of this year, China's integrated circuit exports reached a total of 444.73 billion yuan, this figure even exceeded automobile exports, becoming a bright spot in China's foreign trade.
At the same time, with the rapid progress of technology and the continuous expansion of new application fields, cutting-edge technologies such as high-performance computing, 5G communication, and artificial intelligence (AI) are booming. The rapid development of these technology areas has not only increased the market demand for semiconductor products, but also accelerated innovation and upgrading in all aspects of the semiconductor industry chain.
Wang Xudong said: "According to Qunzhi consulting data, it is expected that global semiconductor sales in 2024 will be about 580.3 billion US dollars, an increase of more than 15%. Take memory as an example, whether it is dynamic random access memory or flash memory, the industry price this year is in a quarter-on-quarter upward trend. Combined with the demand for AI and new energy vehicles, the semiconductor industry as a whole is in a recovery trend."
Listed companies in the semiconductor sector also released positive signals to the market. Among the 156 listed companies in the semiconductor sector of Shenwan Industry (2021, only A-shares), 86 of them had positive year-on-year growth in operating income in 2023, and 51 of them had positive year-on-year growth in total profit, and by the first quarter of 2024, the data had risen to 117 and 83 respectively.
Wang Xiaolong, director of the research enterprise Service department of the domestic semiconductor research institution, told the Securities Daily reporter that since this year, the domestic semiconductor industry has made significant progress in terms of market size, industrial chain layout, enterprise performance and innovation, policy support and regional development, and the growth of global demand for high-tech products and the support of national policies. Have injected new vitality into the semiconductor industry. However, the semiconductor industry is also facing challenges such as rising manufacturing costs and high research and development costs, and semiconductor companies need to actively adjust their product structure and supply chain to adapt to market changes.