2Q results meet guidance; inventory correction to continue through 2H15

Second Quarter 2015 Overview[1]:

• Revenue: NT$38.01 billion (US$1.23 billion)
• Gross margin: 22.9%; operating margin: 10.2%
• Foundry revenue from advanced nodes: 11% from 28nm, 22% from 40nm
• Foundry capacity utilization rate: 94%
• Net income attributable to the stockholders of the parent: NT$4.60 billion (US$149 million)
• Earnings per share: NT$0.37; earnings per ADS: US$0.060

United Microelectronics Corporation (NYSE: UMC; TWSE: 2303) ("UMC" or "The Company"), a leading global semiconductor foundry, today announced its consolidated operating results for the second quarter of 2015.

Revenue was NT$38.01 billion, with gross margin at 22.9% and operating margin at 10.2%. Net income attributable to the stockholders of the parent was NT$4.60 billion, with earnings per ordinary share of NT$0.37.

Po-Wen Yen, CEO of UMC, said "In the second quarter of 2015, our foundry business performed within expectations, posting NT$36.52 billion in revenues and gross margin of 25.1%. Wafer shipments reached an all-time high of 1.54 million 8-inch equivalent wafers, leading to an overall capacity utilization rate of 94%. Our 28nm shipments continued to increase as 2Q15 contribution reached 11% of sales, primarily from the communication sector. The New Business segment recorded NT$1.83 billion in revenue, with a net loss of NT$170 million. Topcell Solar Inc. officially merged into Motech Industries Inc. on June 1, 2015, resulting in UMC owning approximately 9% of Motech equity shares. As such, we will no longer consolidate its operating performance into UMC's financial statements."

CEO Yen continued, "Looking into 3Q, the limited end-market visibility and inventory correction we mentioned during our 1Q conference call is expected to continue. Current weakness in overall demand, partly due to the uncertainties in economic outlook, will prolong the inventory adjustment through the second half of 2015. However, we continue to enhance our foundry services, such as our recently announced 14nm FinFET IP collaborations with Synopsys and ARM to accelerate process verification on our 14nm platform. UMC also announced the availability of a new 55nm ultra-low-power process from ARM, aimed to maximize battery life for IoT applications. For Through-Silicon-Via (TSV), we recently ramped to volume production our TSV and silicon interposer process used on AMD's flagship Radeon GPU. These engineering efforts will strengthen our advanced and mature node offering and enhance UMC's competitive edge in the foundry industry. In addition, shareholders have approved a dividend payout of NT$0.55 per share for fiscal 2014, balancing UMC's commitment to shareholders while maximizing the opportunities towards business growth. UMC strives to provide enhanced corporate profitability by delivering the highest quality manufacturing services in order to ensure long term shareholder value."

Summary of Operating Results