中国第二大晶圆代工厂华虹宏力半导体正积极拓展硅光子业务，旨在抓住全球人工智能基础设施繁荣的下一波浪潮。
China’s second-largest contract chipmaker, Hua Hong Grace Semiconductor, is aggressively expanding into silicon photonics, as the company looks to capture the next wave of the global artificial intelligence infrastructure boom.
董事长兼总裁白鹏周四在与分析师的业绩电话会上表示，公司计划在2027年的下一次主要产能扩张中，大幅拓展其在硅光子领域的布局——这是一种用于AI光模块的关键技术。
Speaking on an earnings call with analysts on Thursday, Hua Hong chairman and president Bai Peng said the company planned to significantly expand its footprint in silicon photonics – a critical technology used in AI optical modules – during its next major capacity expansion in 2027.
白鹏说：“我们希望参与光模块内部所有基于硅的器件”，并补充称，该领域与电源管理芯片一起，是公司希望“大幅增加产能”的两大领域之一。
“We want to participate in all silicon-based devices [inside optical modules],” Bai said, adding the sector is one of the two areas – along with power management chips – in which it wants to add “significantly more capacity”.
这一计划凸显了这家晶圆代工厂正寻求捕捉AI硬件繁荣的下一波浪潮，不断上涨的晶圆价格和出货量帮助其实现了第三季度的强劲盈利。
The plan underscores how the chip foundry is seeking to capture the next wave of the AI hardware boom, as rising wafer prices and shipments helped it achieve robust earnings for the third quarter.
根据周四的交易所文件，截至9月30日的三个月内，这家总部位于上海的芯片制造商净利润同比激增147%，达到1.234亿美元。
For the three months ended September 30, the Shanghai-based chipmaker’s net profit surged 147 per cent year on year to US$123.4 million, according to its stock exchange filing on Thursday.
总营收创下9.871亿美元的纪录，同比增长近20%。这在一定程度上得益于新收购的子公司华力微电子并表，旨在增强公司的先进制造产能。
Total revenue hit a record US$987.1 million, a nearly 20 per cent year-on-year increase. That was partly driven by the integration of its newly acquired subsidiary Huali Microelectronics, aimed at bolstering the company’s advanced manufacturing capacity.
若剔除华力微电子的数据，公司总营收达到8.034亿美元，超过了此前7.7亿至7.8亿美元的业绩指引。
Excluding the figures from Huali Microelectronics, the firm’s total revenue reached US$803.4 million, beating the company’s previous guidance of US$770 million to US$780 million.
白鹏将盈利激增归因于持续的AI热潮，这造成了芯片供需的严重失衡。
Bai attributed the earnings surge to the ongoing AI boom, which has created a significant imbalance between chip supply and demand.
白鹏表示，AI热潮“让大多数人措手不及”。他将当前的AI基础设施建设比作互联网早期，称半导体芯片是“工业时代的新石油”。
The AI boom had “caught most people by surprise”, Bai said. He likened the current AI infrastructure buildout to the early days of the internet, calling semiconductor chips “the new oil of the industrial age”.
“作为一家技术组合广泛的专业晶圆代工厂，华虹宏力对微控制器、闪存、电源管理和功率分立器件的需求日益增长，部分细分领域供应相应紧张，即使我们继续扩产，”白某某表示。
“As a speciality technology foundry with a broad technology portfolio, Hua Hong Grace has seen increasingly higher demands for microcontrollers, flash memory, power management and power discrete products, with corresponding tight supply in some segments, even as we continue to expand capacity,” Bai said.
该芯片制造商预计，行业需求和价格上升的模式将“持续一段时间”，他补充道。
The chipmaker expected the pattern of rising demand and prices in the industry to continue “for some time”, he added.
为应对产能短缺，该芯片制造商正“以最快速度”推进新建Fab 9B设施的建设。他表示，该晶圆厂位于中国东部城市无锡，公司已于9月中旬开始向该晶圆厂搬入设备。
To address a shortage in production capacity, the chipmaker is pushing forward with construction of its new Fab 9B facility “with highest possible speed”. It began moving equipment into the fab – based in the eastern Chinese city of Wuxi – in mid-September, he said.
然而，该芯片制造商预计，即使新产能投产，供应限制仍将持续，因为当地晶圆厂——尤其是其较大的竞争对手中芯国际（SMIC）——在科技巨头和初创公司争相获取算力的背景下，正以满负荷运行晶圆厂。
However, the chipmaker anticipates ongoing supply constraints even as new capacity comes online, as local foundries – especially its larger rival Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (SMIC) – are running their fabs at full capacity amid a scramble among tech giants and start-ups to secure computing power.
白某某表示，公司明年大部分产能扩张计划已被客户预订，并补充称，该公司整体晶圆厂利用率将保持在100%或略高于100%。
A large part of the company’s capacity expansion for next year has already been booked by customers, Bai said, adding that the firm’s overall fab utilisation would remain at 100 per cent or slightly higher.
根据其周四提交的文件，华虹第三季度的总产能利用率为102.9%。
During the third quarter, Hua Hong’s total production capacity utilisation rate stood at 102.9 per cent, according to its filing on Thursday.
在财报发布前，华虹股价在香港下跌2.04%，报67.3港元。
Shares of Hua Hong had dropped 2.04 per cent to HK$67.3 in Hong Kong ahead of the earnings release.