MediaTek Tsai Ming-kai: 5G SoC is the world's No. 1

IC design company MediaTek held a shareholders meeting on the 14th. In response to shareholders' questions about MediaTek's 5G system-on-chip (SoC) lagging behind its peers, Chairman Tsai Ming-kai emphasized that "MediaTek's 5G SoC is the world's No. 1." CEO Tsai Li-hsing added that the first 5G SoC is expected to be sent to customers in the third quarter of this year and mass-produced in March next year.

      Regarding the overall economic environment, Cai Lixing said that this year has been a difficult year for the industry, especially the impact of the decline in the memory industry. Currently, MediaTek's inventory control is reasonable and operations are normal. In the face of industry and market uncertainties, it will focus on improving technology and products.

      As for the company's operations, Cai Lixing said that his outlook for the second quarter remains the same and that the full year will remain the same. In the development of 5G, MediaTek has worked closely with international giants such as Amazon and Alibaba to make smart life more popular, which represents MediaTek's determination to become a 5G leader.

      Cai Lixing said that although the market uncertainty is high, this year's technology investments including 5G, Wi-Fi 6, enterprise-level customized chips (ASIC), automotive electronics, etc. have begun to contribute to revenue, and it is estimated that next year's revenue contribution from 5G, AIoT, overall ASIC, etc. will exceed 10%.

      At the shareholders' meeting, a shareholder asked whether MediaTek would benefit from Huawei's shift in supply chain. Cai Lixing did not respond.

      In addition to recognizing last year's operating statements, MediaTek's shareholders' meeting also approved a profit distribution plan to distribute a cash dividend of NT$9 per share.

MediaTek previously estimated that the stable growth of its three major product lines, namely growth, mature and mobile computing, will drive second-quarter consolidated revenue to increase by 13-21% quarter-on-quarter to NT$59.6-63.8 billion (same unit below). The gross profit margin is estimated to be 40.5%, plus or minus 1.5 percentage points, and the operating profit margin is approximately 32%, plus or minus 2 percentage points.