HK Stock Market Move | Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (00981) rose more than 5% in morning trading. The company said it is more optimistic about its overall operational performance for this year compared to the previous quarter.

Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (00981) rose more than 5% in early trading, with a 5.4% increase at the time of publication, reaching 72.2 Hong Kong dollars, with a turnover of 25.19 billion Hong Kong dollars. On the news front, Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation announced that, based on customer demand and order situation, the company is more optimistic about its overall operations this year compared to the previous quarter. This is mainly due to the strong demand for complementary chips for artificial intelligence, which is directly driving the company's capacity for power management chips to be in short supply; the overseas suction effect of artificial intelligence is causing customers in mainland China to seek capacity and orders to flow back; artificial intelligence is also driving demand for new applications such as ToF, electric vehicles, and Siasun Robot&Automation, prompting local companies to actively expand their markets; demands for domestic logic and networking chips are being pushed by the industrial chain's localization requirements; price hikes and customers stocking up early due to concerns about future supply shortages. CICC released a research report stating that Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation's capacity reached 1.08 million pieces per month (equivalent to 8-inch wafers) by the end of the first quarter, with a capacity utilization rate of 93.1%, a slight decrease compared to the previous quarter, mainly due to consumer electronics and seasonal effects. Capital expenditures reached 1.56 billion dollars, with depreciation and amortization totaling 1.088 billion dollars, a 25.7% year-on-year increase, but gross profit margin did not decrease significantly, reflecting the current industry's market conditions and the counter-effect of the company's high capacity utilization rate. The bank predicts that 2026 will be a key year for the company's revenue growth to accelerate while facing depreciation pressures. Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation's guidance for the second quarter indicates a growth of 14 to 16% compared to the previous quarter, which the bank believes is due to the resonance of capacity utilization rates and ASP increases.