1934 Act Registration No. 1-15128
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, DC 20549
FORM 6-K
REPORT OF FOREIGN PRIVATE ISSUER
PURSUANT TO RULE 13a-16 OR 15d-16 OF
THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
Dated July 8, 2003
United Microelectronics Corporation
(Translation of Registrant's Name into English)
No. 3 Li Hsin Road II
Science-Based Industrial Park
Hsinchu, Taiwan, R.O.C.
(Address of Principal Executive Office)
(Indicate by check mark whether the registrant files or will file annual
reports under cover of form 20-F or Form 40-F.)
Form 20-F X Form 40-F
----- -----
(Indicate by check mark whether the registrant by furnishing the
information contained in this form is also thereby furnishing the information to
the Commission pursuant to Rule 12g3-2(b) under the Securities Exchange Act of
1934.)
Yes No X
----- -----
(If "Yes" is marked, indicated below the file number assigned to the
registrant in connection with Rule 12g3-2(b): Not applicable)
--------------
This current report on Form 6-K is hereby incorporated by reference into our
Registration Statement on Form F-3 filed with the Commission on January 2, 2002,
as amended (File No.333-14256).
SIGNATURE
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the
registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the
undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
United Microelectronics Corporation
Date: July 8, 2003 By /s/ Stan Hung
---------------- ----------------------------------
Stan Hung
Chief Financial Officer
On April 30, 2003, we announced our unaudited unconsolidated operating
results for the three months ended March 31, 2003. Our net operating revenues on
an unconsolidated basis for the three months ended March 31, 2003 was NT$17.9
billion (US$0.5 billion), representing a 47.2% increase from NT$12.2 billion for
the three months ended March 31, 2002. This increase in our net operating
revenues was primarily due to an increase in our capacity utilization rate. Our
gross profit on an unconsolidated basis for the three months ended March 31,
2003 was NT$2,740 million (US$78.9 million), representing a 306.8% increase
from NT$674 million for the three months ended March 31, 2002. This increase
was primarily attributable to our higher revenues for the three months ended
March 31, 2003. Our net income on an unconsolidated basis for the three months
ended March 31, 2003 was NT$403 million (US$11.6 million), compared to NT$216
million in the three months ended March 31, 2002. The increase in our
unconsolidated net income was due to an increase in our net operating revenues.
Earnings per share for the three months ended March 31, 2003 were NT$0.03,
compared to NT$0.01 for the three months ended March 31, 2002.
To maintain and enhance our position as a leader in our industry, we have
adopted a new business strategy focused on a partnership business model. This
model is designed to accommodate our customers' business objectives and needs
and to promote their interests as our partners. For example, we invested in
Silicon Integrated Systems Corp., or SiS, in late 2002, as a result of the
settlement of a dispute between our company and SiS. We believe our partnership
with SiS will enhance its competitiveness in the market of independent
semiconductor designers and manufacturers, which will lead to a stable demand
for our products and services for the long term. However, our new partnership
business model may not create the synergies we anticipate, nor may it result in
profitable investment returns for our shareholders. Furthermore, in the
short-term, our new strategy may result in investment losses. For example, for
the three months ended March 31, 2003, we incurred an investment loss of NT$112
million (US$3.2 million) in connection with our investment in SiS. We expect to
generate an additional investment loss in SiS in the near future.
Another recent change in our management focus is to increase our
shareholder returns. We plan to reach such goal primarily through enhancing our
capital efficiency by adopting more conservative facility expansion and research
and development plans, and further implementing cost reduction measures. Our
cost reduction measures include procurement of standard raw materials of
multiple sources through competitive auctions. We, however, cannot assure you
that our shareholder return strategy can be successfully implemented.
In addition, our approach to developing process and manufacturing
technologies is to become more self reliant and competitive in our own right. To
that end, we have gradually shifted away from our previous reliance on joint
development or research and development alliances with other companies to
develop our more advanced process technologies. For example, on June 30, 2002,
our Joint Development Agreement with IBM, one of our more significant technology
alliance partners was discontinued in keeping with this new plan.
In May 2003, we issued unsecured domestic bonds in the aggregate amount of
NT$15 billion. These bonds include two tranches: NT$7.5 billion unsecured bonds
due May 2008 with interest rates of 4.00% minus 12 month US dollar LIBOR rates
but at the minimum of 0%, and NT$7.5 billion unsecured bonds due May 2010 with
interest rates of 4.3% minus 12 month US dollar LIBOR rates but at the minimum
of 0%.
Beginning in March 2003, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore and several
other Asian countries have been affected by an outbreak of Severe Acute
Respiratory Syndrome, or
SARS, a highly contagious disease. Although the epidemic had the potential of
seriously hurting the economies of these affected countries, its outbreak was
nevertheless contained within a few months from its onset. As a result, its
effects on the economies of the affected countries were relatively short-termed.
Although demand for our products and services by our end-users may have been
negatively affected by the SARS outbreak, we believe that any negative impact of
the reduced demand on our results of operations should only be limited to a
relative short period of time in 2003.