On February 7, SMIC released its fourth quarter and full-year financial reports for 2023. Gross profit margins and profits fell sharply, and officials admitted that they were under great pressure. TrendForce pointed out in the analysis report that the reasons for SMIC's poor performance include, in addition to the official semiconductor industry cycle being at the bottom, weak global market demand, high industry inventory and slow removal, fierce competition within the industry, continued investment and high pressure on equipment depreciation, etc., as well as process factors.
It is said thatSMIC is moving from the 7nm process to the 5nm node, especially working closely with Huawei to build a production line in Shanghai to manufacture chips for Huawei's future flagship smartphones, especially focusing on the 5nm process.
However, industry sources estimate thatThe price (or cost) of SMIC's 7nm and 5nm processes is as much as 40-50% more expensive than that of TSMC, but the yield rate is less than 1/3.
It is even said that,SMIC is about to deliver the first batch of 5nm chips to Huawei and will provide them with preferential prices.
Of course, the above statements are all from media reports and are difficult to confirm at present, but even if they are true, it is a great breakthrough, proving that we have basically mastered the most advanced manufacturing technology, and the road ahead will definitely become wider and wider.
In addition, the words of Zhao Haijun, co-CEO of SMIC, are also thought-provoking:
"In the third quarter of 2023, the industry chain of mobile devices such as smartphones has been updated. Some innovative product companies have got the opportunity to initiate urgent orders and begin to stabilize and rebound."
Considering that Huawei released the epoch-making Mate60 series without any warning in the third quarter of last year, equipped with Kirin 9000S processor, many people associated them together, but there is still no way to confirm it.