Unimicron Technology's IC substrate plant in Taoyuan, northern Taiwan caught fire on the afternoon of October 28. The site is where the company produces flip-chip chip-scale packaging (CSP) substrates.

The fire prompted the company to suspend all operations at the plant. No serious injuries or deaths were reported.

The cause of the fire is being investigated, and the losses are still being evaluated, Unimicron said, adding it will be mitigating the impact of the accident on clients by utilizing its capacity at its other plants.

The Taoyuan plant contributes about 6% to the company's total revenue monthly, according to market observers. As Unimicron's major FC CSP substrate production base, the plant fulfills orders from customers including Qualcomm, MediaTek and Huawei's HiSilicon, said the observers.

Earlier in the second half of this year, Unimicron's Kunshan plant in China also caught fire. The plant is dedicated to production of traditional PCB and HDI products mainly for automotive applications.

Unimicron expressed previously caution about its performance in the fourth quarter of 2020, despite a pick-up in demand for handset applications. Unimicron continues to operate its ABF substrate production lines at full capacity, but the visibility of BT substrate and HDI PCB orders for the fourth quarter is limited. Unimicron said it is conservative about whether the loss of Huawei's orders can be offset immediately by orders from other brand customers.

Unimicron reported revenue of NT$23.04 billion (US$805.4 million) for the third quarter of 2020, up a slight 0.4% on year, while net profits rose 20.5% to NT$1.59 billion.

By DIGITIMES