Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for joining us on Q3 2024 Earnings Call. I'm Leah Peng, the spokesperson of GlobalWafers, and our chairperson, Doris Hsu, is with us today. Here's how today's call will unfold. Doris will start with the executive comments, followed by my brief introduction covering our perspective on the semiconductor industry, our Q3 2024 performance, and addressing questions we have received from investors recently. The session will conclude with an open Q&A, during which Doris will provide answers. A quick reminder: please keep your audio on mute. To ensure a smooth and interactive session, we have established two methods for you to post questions during this event. Use the Slido feature for written questions and utilize the Webex hand-raising function for live spoken inquiries. First, Slido text-based questions. Throughout the meeting, you can input your questions using the Slido feature in Webex.
Simply access Slido and type in your question. Our presenter will monitor Slido regularly to address your written questions. To ensure the efficient use of time, we encourage you to type in your questions as the meeting starts. Second is live voice questions. Towards the end of the meeting, we will open the floor for live voice questions. If you wish to speak directly, please use the Webex raise hand function to indicate your intention. Once you raise your hand, kindly be ready to accept the host's invitation to unmute your microphone when prompted. This will allow you to verbally pose your question to the panel. Please be reminded to limit the questions to two at a time. This will allow us to accommodate as many inquiries as possible within the allocated time frame. Before we begin, I would like to remind you that today's discussion may contain forward-looking statements.
Please be aware that these statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ materially from our expectations. Please refer to the safe harbor notice in our presentation. Now, without further delay, I would like to pass the floor to our Chairperson for the executive comments. Doris, please.
Thank you, Leah. Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you very much for joining GlobalWafers. Leah Peng, Hsiu-Lan Hsu, Spokesperson, will guide us through the presentation and FAQ received recently, and I will address the questions raised in the meeting today. First of all, let me share some comments of our overall financial results and update current operation status. In the Q3 of 2024, our revenue reached NT$18.9 billion, marking a 3.6% increase QOQ. For the first three quarters of 2024, our revenue totaled NT$46.3 billion, reflecting a 14.1% decline YOY. Both three quarters this year and the Q3 this year, both of these two achieved the third highest figure for the same period for GlobalWafers.
The revenue decrease of 2024 versus 2023 is mainly due to the continued impact of sluggish demand in the semiconductor wafer market, particularly in the automotive and industrial sectors, as well as softer-than-expected demand in the China market. While customers have been gradually reabsorbing inventory, the pace has been slower than anticipated, making the overall market less optimistic than our initial expectations at the beginning of the year. However, GlobalWafers has already passed the Q1 2024 trough and has been growth for two consecutive quarters, Q2 and Q3, with Q4 expected to continue this upward trend. As inventory levels normalize by year-end, we anticipate a market recovery in 2025, driven by improving semiconductor demand and new customer capacity coming online. Okay, let's take a look at the gross margin. Our gross profit margin stood at 30% for Q3 and 32.2% for the first three quarters.
The 2.3% QOQ gross margin decrease can be attributed to several factors, including the first one is that increase in electricity costs across countries due to summer weather. And number two is the rise in depreciation. Number three is silicon carbide's decline in both volume and price. And number four reason is the variation in the product mix. Okay, and operating profit-wise, in Q3, the operating profit margin stood at 20.2%, and the cumulative total for the first three quarters reached 22.8%. Net profit for Q3 2024, GlobalWafers achieved a net profit margin of 18.6%, bringing the net profit for the first three quarters of the year to 20.2%. Earned EPS earnings per share for the Q3 came in at NT$6.18 per share, contributing to a cumulative EPS of NT$20.19 per share for the first three quarters of the year.
Okay, another very important index, which we always update to all shareholders, is the prepayment amount. As of the end of September 2024, our prepayment totaled NT$33.1 billion, or $1.05 billion. Compared to the previous quarter and the previous quarter, our prepayment balance decreased by 6%, or NT$1.8 billion. This reduction can be attributed to two key factors. The first factor is customers honored their contracts and continued to receive wafers as agreed, so prepayments were refunded to customers when the contractual obligations were fulfilled, and the second factor is that the unfavorable foreign exchange rate in Q3, which appreciated a lot within one quarter, approximately 2.47% in Q3 appreciation, negatively impacted our prepayment figures when we converted it to NT dollar, so these are two key reasons why our prepayment was around 6% lower than end of Q2.
Okay, and next, I would like to share some outlook on macroeconomics and semiconductor economics and semiconductor industry. Global economy, global growth for 2024 and 2025 remains stable at around 3.2%, but future economic prospects remain uncertain due to the current landscape of financial market volatility and geopolitical fragmentation, presenting both risks and also opportunities. We are also cautiously monitoring the impact of China's recent fiscal stimulus, outlined by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, 中国人大常会, which we anticipate will yield clear results after the meeting concludes on November 8th, and additionally, we are closely watching the US presidential election as well. Semiconductor, I think semiconductor industry in general is improving. Strong demand is anticipated in advanced sectors such as AI, high-performance computing, data centers, and personal computing.
Despite uncertain global economic conditions dampening consumer confidence, new product launches in smartphones and PC sectors will also generate solid demand for SOC and peripheral ICs. Traditional sectors such as consumers are showing mild improvement, while automotive and industrial electronics are still suffering from very weak demand right now. Let me update a little bit about the industry inventory level and also CapEx trends. While customers' inventory absorption has improved, actually many of our customers' inventory is improving, meaning getting lower and lower quarter by quarter, but the pace remains slower than expected. A gradual recovery is projected by 2025, driven by rising demand for AI and also some advanced processing, which are boosting fab utilization and also prompting a gradual ramp-up in customers' fabs. GlobalWafers is well positioned to capitalize on this trend by focusing its CapEx on advanced and specialty products.
It's worth noting that our long-term outlook for the semiconductor market remains very robust, with substantial growth anticipated in the coming years, fueled by innovations and the AI boom. The question is not whether the industry will reach this milestone, but rather when it will occur. Though there might be some short-term fluctuations, the underlying mega trends continue to drive growth, creating sustained opportunities in the semiconductor sector. Our recent customers' conversations reveal that the same positive long-term outlook, primarily fueled by advancements in AI, also aligns well with our view of a strong secular growth trajectory. Here, I would like to also elaborate on the compound semiconductor. As I explained at the very beginning of my executive comments, silicon carbide was one of the key reasons of our weak Q3 revenue, or the very weak revenue versus 2023.
I think in the beginning, in Q4 2023, the silicon carbide market encountered challenges from a sudden slowdown in the EV market in China and a slower-than-expected recovery in the industry sector, resulting in elevated inventory levels. Rapid expansion in silicon carbide production has led to oversupply and extremely critical price competition right now, potentially driving industry consolidation as early as 2025. For the silicon carbide device industry to remain viable, companies will need to focus on optimizing operations, improving production yields, and also accelerating the shift from 6-inch to 8-inch thin silicon carbide wafer. It has to be thin or ultra-thin silicon carbide wafers. At GlobalWafers, we focus on differentiating our offerings and maintaining financial stability to navigate market challenges.
Our entry into silicon carbide market emphasizes high-quality, competitively priced products supported by a robust financial foundation that makes us a reliable partner for our customers. With a resilient global supply chain and flexible production capabilities, we can adapt to the shift from 6-inch to ultra-thin 8-inch silicon carbide wafer to meet future demand. We prioritize superior product quality and performance alongside sustainability through our ESG initiative. As one of the leading silicon carbide manufacturers outside China, we leverage our industry-leading profitability to deliver high-quality, cost-competitive products. That's our strategy, and that's how we are going to differentiate our silicon carbide product. Next, I would like to update you on our expansion status and also share some very exciting news about our expansion in the US
Our GWA Texas operation, Texas Sherman GWA Construction, is on track with customer sampling expected by end of 2024 and production scheduled to begin by end of Q1 2025. That's our current status and also our Q1 goal. Subsequent to the PMT preliminary memorandum of terms finalized in July, the CHIPS Act Office, CHIPS Program Office CPO, is currently conducting due diligence on both GWA Texas operation and our Missouri operation for SOI. The CPO has indicated that the incentive grant payments will be made in tranches as project milestones are achieved, such as completion of the construction phases and also some other milestones. In addition to CHIPS Act, which we announced a couple of months ago, we are about to receive $400 million from the CHIPS Act fund.
In addition to this, I'm very happy, I'm thrilled to share that the US government has recently approved the AMIC, Advanced Manufacturing Investment Credit, which will greatly benefit our US expansion projects. The US government has recently, just a couple of weeks ago, approved the Advanced Manufacturing Investment Credit as part of the CHIPS Act, which offers a 25% tax credit. Our US expansion projects, both Texas and Missouri operations, are both eligible for this significant incentive. The final rule makes clear that semiconductor wafer manufacturers, including ingot and wafer manufacturing, are eligible for this 25% credit, and that qualifies expenses, including construction and process tools. We understand that the companies may apply for the credit when they file their annual income tax returns in the year that the eligible property is put in service.
So when combined with the $400 million direct fund grant from CHIPS Act, which represents around 10% of the total combined MEMC and GWA investment, the total federal government subsidy of GlobalWafers' current US investment is approximately 35% or $1 billion. These significant subsidies are central to our efforts to achieve significant growth in the US market as our customers also expand production in the US over the next decades. This financial support enhances our flexibility, reduces debt levels, and also increases our return on investment. Additionally, it improves cash flow, allows for better resource allocation, and improves profitability by reducing depreciation expenses. In parallel, our Italy expansion is focused on scaling up 12-inch wafer production, supported by funding from IPCEI, an Important Project of Common European Interest initiative, which covers around 25% of our capital expenditures, approximately EUR 103 million or around $110 million.
This funding supports materials, utilities, and labor costs for developing and producing advanced products. The pilot line is set to start up in early 2025, Q1 2025, so in conclusion, our strategic expansions align seamlessly with the future trend toward advanced nanotechnology. The expense associated with capacity upgrades are short-term, and with the support of various government award programs, we will enhance our growth potential and also complement the local supply chain. One key strength lies in differentiation is that our global presence and proximity to blue chip customers enables us to facilitate collaboration development of next-generation products while also reducing our carbon footprint. This positions GlobalWafers as a preferred partner for our customers in the semiconductor industry. Okay, I think the above are my comments. I'll stop here, and Leah, please share more on the industry outlook and the financial performance of our shareholders.
Thank you. Thank you, Doris.
Next is our look on the semiconductor industry. Let's move to page nine, Global Semiconductor Market. There is no doubt that the mega trends will sustain consistent growth in the semiconductor industry. Initially, market research projected that the semiconductor market to reach $1 trillion by 2030, but the forecast has now been raised to $1.3 trillion. This aligns with our view that technological advancements driven by powerful mega trends, mainly AI, will continue to propel the industry forward. While short-term volatility may cause turbulence, the long-term upward trend is certain. For GlobalWafers, we consider that shipments of 300-millimeter silicon wafers are expected to remain flat in 2024, but will further expand by double digits in 2025. This can be attributed to several factors: increased manufacturing capacity, rising utilization rates as production processes become more efficient, and a gradual recovery in demand as customers actively work to reduce their inventories.
Page 10 shows that the global semiconductor industry is actively expanding production capacity to support the proliferation of AI, as well as a diverse range of disruptive technologies and emerging applications. With improved utilization and ramp-up in the downstream sector, along with comparatively modest expansion in upstream wafer production, the projected utilization of 300-millimeter wafer production capacity is expected to be in the low to mid-90s% range during 2025 and 2026. A near full saturation is anticipated by 2027, which we consider a very healthy situation as it leaves room for R&D experiment and innovation. GlobalWafers' expansion in Europe, Asia, and the US are strategically aligned with this future fab investment, positioning the company to effectively meet customer demand and capture market momentum. Page 11. In recent quarters, global semiconductor revenue has shown an encouraging upward trend, so recovery remains uneven across segments.
Upstream, silicon wafer shipments are also beginning to recover, but with one or two quarters lag. For silicon wafer shipments, customer revenue started increasing in 2023, but not all increase was due to volume, but rather some attribution from higher ASPs from recent high-value products. Nevertheless, inventory reabsorption speed is still much slower than our expectation. As shown in the chart on the right, these statistics reflect GlobalWafers' worldwide customer data as of Q2 2024. While global customer revenues rebounded in Q3 2024, the modest decrease in average day DOI, days of inventory, suggests that the need for continued inventory absorption, which has been milder than our original expectation, especially in the industrial and automotive sectors. It is also essential to distinguish inventory labels by node type, which means advanced and legacy. Advanced nodes are experiencing shortages, actually, whereas legacy nodes face high inventory pressure.
We anticipate this imbalance may ease as AI functionality is integrated into peripheral devices, with potential support from effective economic stimulus measures or a rebound in the automotive sector, both of which are expected to drive the demand for semiconductors. On page 12, these are GlobalWafers' available customer financial results as of Q2 2024. Since not all customers have announced the latest Q3 results, we are sharing performance data categorized by market and the region as of Q2 2024. Utilization rates vary across different technological nodes, with advanced nodes experiencing shortage while legacy technologies face excess capacity. We have observed growth in the memory, foundry, and the NPU segments, so the results in analog IC and the power segments remain mixed, highlighting an uneven recovery across sectors. Taiwan and Korea have shown growth, but the recovery signs remain absent in Europe and Japan.
Please turn to page 14 for our Q3 financial performance. With Doris' clear explanation in the executive comments, here I would like to further elaborate the change of the ROE and ROA figures. First, ROE in Q3 2024, our ROE dropped to 12.8% from the 35% in Q3 2023, marking a worldwide decline of 22 percentage points. This decline is mainly due to lower revenue, which affected our net income. Additionally, the capital injections from our GDR transaction in Q2 increased our average shareholder equity. The GDR has raised $689 million. That is about NT$ 22 billion. This is crucial for GlobalWafers' future growth. The funding will enable us to strengthen our financial position and support our NT$ 100 billion CapEx plan, which focuses entirely on advanced and specialty wafers, allowing us to capitalize on the industry's recovery. And next is ROA.
In Q3 2024, our ROA decreased to 5.4% from the previous 12.7% in Q3 2023. This reflects a worldwide decline of 7.3 percentage points. The change is primarily due to declining revenue, which also negatively impacted our net income, and the increase in the fixed asset related to our CapEx also contributed to higher average total asset. This investment is also a positive step towards our sustainable growth. Let's move on to the balance sheet on page 19. In Q3 2024, our cash amounted to NT$ 41.7 billion, with an additional NT$ 26 billion entering in deposits and restricted cash classified under other assets, bringing the total cash-related assets to NT$ 68 billion. To maintain a strong financial structure in the ongoing capital expenditures, in Q3, a portion of our deposit was used to repay the bank loans.
Additionally, in August, we have shared the fruits of our growth with shareholders, with the cash dividends, which amounted to NT$ 53 billion. Also, I would like to elaborate on our inventory value. Our inventory levels also increased in preparation for the year-end maintenance schedules across our facilities. Now, I would like to address both the questions we have received from investors recently and the Q&As we anticipate will be raised. The first is the supply and demand. With customers expected to ramp up in 2025 and most of our expansions becoming available that year, are there any concerns about potential oversupply? What are your thoughts on the supply and demand situation for 12-inch wafer next year? Our answer is that it is important to note that compared to downstream expansion, the expansion in the wafer manufacturing remains relatively modest.
Compared to 2022, additional 300-millimeter capacity has been added, and we anticipate the utilization will rise across the board. When evaluating capacity, it is crucial to understand that it is not evenly distributed across different technology nodes. Advanced nodes often face capacity shortages, while legacy technologies may see excess capacity. Now, demand is predominantly focused on advanced and specialty nodes, with additional capacity more required. Global semiconductor fab capacity actually is projected to grow by 6%-7% CAGR annually through 2027. With the current supply, as well as the downstream customers continuing to ramp up their capacity and advanced packaging architectures further drive wafer demand, we think the supply and demand dynamic is healthy. The second is regarding our LTA.
Could you please provide the insights on the LTA coverage in the coming years and how you plan to address the low coverage products such as small diameters and mature node wafers and the maintained profit level? GlobalWafers' LTA coverage spans all strategic semiconductor segments, including automotive, power, logic, and microprocessors, memory, sensors, and communications, medical health, and renewable energy. This positions GlobalWafers as a key player in the semiconductor material supply chain. During this weak market, customers actually are less interested in engaging in LTA with minimum price commitment, especially on a small diameter product. We believe that this activity will pick up as we proceed through 2025 and will vary by product types where GlobalWafers offers the most comprehensive product and diameter portfolio.
In terms of recovery speed, we anticipate that the 12-inch LTA will rebound faster than other diameters, especially when factoring our ability to provide local supply low-carbon options, which offer key differentiation. For 8-inch and below products, a slow recovery is likely to happen. Our product uniqueness, such as SOI for silicon photonics applications, may drive demand in the segment over time. The next is about silicon photonics. What opportunity does GlobalWafers have in the field of silicon photonics? Silicon photonics technology transmits signals through photons, offering faster speed and less heat generation compared to traditional copper-based electronic transmission. This gives it a distinctive advantage in data centers and the high-performance computing field. SOI wafers are critical in silicon photonics, with their insulating layer effectively limiting light signal transmission within the silicon layer. It can reduce loss and ultimately enhance the transmission efficiency.
This makes SOI wafer ideal for high-speed data transmission and low-power applications. Our factory in Missouri, USA, is one of the leaders in SOI technology, serving numerous clients and with strong potential for expanded collaboration with tier-one customers. Currently, the factory is expanding its 12-inch SOI wafer production capacity, and it's supported by the funding from the US government's CHIPS Act. We have already made partial shipments, and as production scales up in Missouri next year, market demand is expected to grow steadily. The next is about our eight-inch outlook. Could you please share the outlook of eight-inch wafers and what is our strategy in addressing the challenges of the small-sized wafer market? The current eight-inch utilization is actually not full. However, one of our strengths is the broadest product portfolio.
It spans standard products plus niche 8-inch offerings of annealed wafer, FZ wafer, and the third-generation products such as Sic Since most of our fabs producing 8-inch wafers are integrated with 12-inch production, we can easily reallocate resources, optimize cost structure, and achieve efficient operational management during lower 8-inch capacity utilization. Price competition for 8-inch wafer is intense. However, most of our 6- and 8-inch silicon wafer production lines are already fully depreciated. This allows us to maintain a stable profit. Our strength lies in customers seeking collaboration with suppliers who offer high-quality, prioritized ESG initiatives and help mitigate geopolitical risks, and this will make GlobalWafers an ideal partner for our customers. Next is about the spot price erosion for 12-inch products and its outlook in 2025. The spot price for 12-inch legacy products has softened in 2024.
Given the time required for customers to deplete inventory of non-leading edge wafers, the demand for 12-inch silicon wafers is expected to keep progressing at a moderate pace. Meanwhile, shipments of small diameter wafers are projected to remain slow, reflecting weak demand for their associated end products. The original LTA established by GlobalWafers during the market peak of 2021 to 2022 were designed to support the company's target gross margins. The challenge is more pronounced for small diameter wafers, including SiC, where growth has been stalled by a slowdown in EV production. The next is about the power cost and carbon fee. Taiwan has raised electricity prices in October and is also planning to implement a carbon fee in 2026. What is the impact on GlobalWafers' gross margin profit? Yes, Taiwan's electricity prices have increased by 14%.
If the carbon fee is set at TWD 300 per ton, it will indeed affect our production costs in Taiwan. From a consolidated financial statement perspective, the impact on our gross margin is estimated to be around 0.5% to 0.7%. We will continue to actively conserve to reserve our electricity and invest in renewable energy to minimize costs on both environmental impact and financial pressures. Next is about our utilization rate. Could you please share with us the current status of the various diameters? The silicon demand growth remains concentrated in the 12-inch wafers, with an even stronger focus on advanced nodes. We initiated the expansion project in 2022, and several sites are already complete. The new expansion sites dedicated to advanced nodes actually are fully loaded. For instance, our Taiwan fab, which expanded to produce 12-inch AP wafers, has been operating at full capacity.
Similarly, our new fab in Japan, which produced the most advanced 12-inch AP wafers, has held its official opening ceremony at the end of August, and it also achieved record-high shipments for consecutive months. Consider all specifications. The overall utilization rate for 12-inch wafers is over 90%. This includes the advanced and legacy nodes. As for the 8-inch wafer, the outlook for the small diameters remains challenging due to the sluggish demand across the automotive and the industrial field. Semiconductor device inventory has not shown significant improvement. Therefore, the utilization rate is lower than 12-inch. Fortunately, our small diameter lines are fully depreciated, so our profit remains stable. Above is our response to the questions. Now, I would like to turn it over to Doris for the Q&A session. Please type your questions in the chat panel or ask questions verbally toward the end of the earnings call.
When posing questions during Q&A, kindly limit them to two at a time. This will ensure that we have ample time to address everyone's queries effectively. Thank you for your cooperation.
Yes. Okay. Thanks. So we have received some questions. Let me answer the question. Okay. The first question is, how does AMIC affect the effective tax rate for GlobalWafers US operations and the overall GlobalWafers group? Can you talk about the impact on other financial items such as depreciation and OpEx? Yes, that's a very important topic. First of all, AMIC, the fund we receive from AMIC, that would be a direct cash fund. So it's not a tax credit cash fund. That definitely will offset our depreciation. That's how we're doing.
The impact, the improvement of our gross margin will be mainly, definitely, of course, is GWA because if we receive the money for GWA, then that amount, that fund we receive from the Treasury Department will be used to offset GWA's gross margin. Also, likewise, for Missouri operations, that will improve Missouri's gross margin a lot as well. The way we work on this is that before we receive the fund, we just do the depreciation every month as usual. When we receive the fund, then starting from that specific month, we will offset the gross margin or the depreciation of that specific site. Starting from the month we receive the fund, you will see a lower depreciation. That means a higher gross margin. That's how we act.
For the other side or for GlobalWafers as a whole, of course, the improvement will be definitely much, much, much smaller because it's mainly for GWA and GWA and Missouri, just two of our 18 fabs. It will improve, but the percentage is not as high as what we will see from GWA. I hope that I make it clear. The improvement will be basically for depreciation, not for OpEx. The fund we receive from Europe, Italy, will be that EUR 103 million. That will be different. The accounting treatment will be a little bit different. The improvement will be from the profit before tax instead of the gross margin improvement because of the nature of the fund is a little bit different. Okay. Okay.
Another question is that your Siltronic plans to gradually discontinue the production of polished and AP wafers with small diameters by 2025. Please share if there are opportunities for GlobalWafers to gain market share in the 6-inch wafer business. What is the current progress, your revenue exposure? That's also a very important and very good question for us. Yes, we know that Siltronic has already announced, and actually, some other peers' companies, they don't really make the announcement, but we know very well that they are slowing down or not very aggressive for small diameter, new business, new technology. But GWC, because of our commitment to customers, we honor our commitment. So we will keep working, keep supplying small diameter. And that's why many of, especially many of the customers are for automotive. Most of them are for automotive.
Many customers, they just switch, either give us more share or just qualify our wafers and transfer the whole allocation to GlobalWafers. That's what we are doing, and we have already seen some customers adjusting their allocation and also evaluating our new samples, so that's good for us, and we will continue this policy. Okay, and the next question is. Okay, just a second. Another question is about 6-inch segment, the strategy in addressing the demand market. 6-inch market, 6-inch demand is really, actually, it's really low now. Many, many power devices and also, especially some automotive devices, are still using 6-inch, so our strategy is that we keep 6-inch. In order to supply our customers, we keep the production for our customers. But of course, we have to raise the price because the cost, the energy cost, and labor costs are different, much higher than before.
So we have to adjust our price a little bit to cover our production costs. But depreciation-wise, because our small diameter depreciation is very, very low, basically it's fully depreciated. So our cost is much more competitive than others. So I think our policy is that we keep 6-inch but adjust the price based on the latest cost structure and make it a win-win deal with our customers together. Okay. And..
ladies and gentlemen, the floor is now open for live questions. If you have any queries, please use the Webex raise hand function. Once acknowledged, please be ready to accept the host invitation to unmute your microphone and share your thoughts with us. Okay, the first one, Donnie from Nomura. Donnie, please.
Hello, good afternoon, Donnie.
Hey, Donnie, please accept our unmute invitation.
Hi, Chairlady and Leah. Can you hear me?
Yes.
Oh, thank you for taking my question. I just have two short questions. So the first one is gross margin. Last quarter, I think there has been an explanation on some of the one-time effects on the gross margin. But this quarter, it looks like operational-wise, the gross margin has been affected by multiple reasons. And now it's like 30% level. So what kind of structural gross margin range would you be expecting going forward, considering all of the factors mentioned in this quarter? Because now gross margin seems like lower than the previous down cycle already. So just wondering whether there's any reasonable range in terms of gross margin going forward. And secondly, it's the dividend policy. Wondering if you could kindly update some of the future dividend policy to investors. Thank you.
Okay, thank you, Donnie.
The first question is really a very important one, but a very tough one for us. I think we didn't expect energy cost increase, for example, in Taiwan, another energy cost, any energy price increase, electricity price increase, so there are, as I said at the very beginning of my executive comment, there are several reasons for this gross margin decrease in Q3. Energy cost, that's one of the key reasons, and also, I think, of course, low revenue is another one as well. If our revenue could be much higher, same as last year, I think the overall cost will be gross margin will be better, but because of the utilization, it's still not high enough, so we still have unused capacity, and high depreciation, that's definitely a very important factor, and I don't think that this is going to be changed.
I think in the next several quarters, we will keep seeing more and more new capacity coming online. So we will see more new depreciation. That's some increase. So in general, and also product mix, that's another reason. For example, some silicon carbide used to be a very good one, but now the product mix is a little bit different. That high revenue items, the price and demand volume and price both are decreasing now. So those are the reasons why our gross margin is a little bit lower. But I think that for the long run, I think, as I said earlier, that our Q4 revenue will be similar to what we said, that Q4 revenue will be higher than Q2, Q3 continuously grow. And I think that 2025 will be, in general, it will be, we hope that it can be back to 2023, which was our all-time high.
So I think that 2025 will be, revenue-wise, will be much higher than this year. So when, but of course, depreciation cost will be much higher than this year as well. So in short, I just want to make it very clear that current situations that we put all the negative things together, lower revenue and higher depreciation and higher energy costs and also freight is so much higher. It's another all-time high as well, the freight, especially from Asia to the US or to Europe. That's very high as well. So Q3, a lot of bad things happened in the same quarter. Q2, there was only one issue, the cybersecurity. And temperature-wise, Q2 temperature, electricity consumption is way lower than Q3. So Q3 is much tougher. So in summary, in short, I think our gross margin right now should be the worst. That should be the bottom.
Because revenue increase, I think overall performance will be getting better, although our depreciation will increase as well. There are some further improvements we're expecting. One is that revenue increase will keep increasing. Maybe the recovery is not as sharp as what we were expecting. It's mild, but it's increasing. So higher revenue, that's one plus one positive thing. And we will start seeing some revenue from our new capacity. Like Leah also mentioned that our MJA, our Japan operation have already reached their all-time high shipment, 300mm all-time high shipment as well. So we will start seeing more and more revenue from new capacity. And although depreciation increased, but we will have more revenue. So number one positive thing is that revenue increase.
The second is that, as I said, we will have $1 billion plus EUR 103 million government fund received in the next several years. It's not one shot. It will be several years, but every year you will receive some money. And that will be a minus and offset of the depreciation. So that will be a good help to us. Our goal is to start seeing some improvement starting from 2025 because of the revenue increase. That's the first question. Your second question is about dividend policy. I think we highlight, we explained this one last time as well, that our dividend, because company policy is not lower than 50% of our overall EPS or distributable profit earnings. So 50% is our company policy. I know that in the past, we used to pay 60%, 70%, 80% high payout.
But I think in the next several years, we will just follow this, keep it somewhere around 50% to 55% as our payout rate. That's our current plan. But of course, things may change if the revenue increase as our expectation. I think 2025, 2026, 2027, these three years should be getting better and better every year. So if the revenue increase as our expectation, and also we receive the fund and all the, if all our financial performance is better, maybe we'll pay out a little bit better. But in general, I think the next three years will be the most challenging time for us. We need to grow, and we need to, and we need to repay our debt ratio a little bit. So I think the dividend payout will be basically will be somewhere 50% to 55%. That's the guidance. That's current status.
It's not subject to the board and AGM approval, of course. Understood. Just one quick follow-up. So could you elaborate more on how much sales exposure, how much sales we have from silicon carbide, what kind of percentage right now? And for gross margin, are you expecting it will start to pick up from Q4 this year, or it will be more likely in 2025? I think, well, it's hard to say, but I would say that starting from 2025, we'll start seeing some recovery. And silicon carbide, I remember that I shared with the shareholders that our silicon carbide YY growth last year was 10X versus year 2022. This year, our expectation, our target was to reach another 3X growth this year. But actually, we didn't make it because the market price dropped significantly, lower than our current material costs.
So we adjust our product mix, change our strategy, and also change our sales and pricing policy. So this year will be much lower. But I apologize. I cannot disclose the percentage of our silicon carbide, the percentage of our revenue from silicon carbide this year. It's small. It's not that big, but it was very profit-wise, was significant, was important for us. Understood.
Okay, thank you, Doris .
Thank you, Donnie. And last question from Sunny Lin. Sunny, please accept our unmute invitation. Thank you.
Thank you very much. Hi, Doris. Leah, could you hear me?
Yes. Hello, Sunny.
Hello, Doris. Thank you very much for taking my questions. So just want to follow up on gross margin, I think especially into 2025. To me, I think the major variable is your US expansion. I think especially for first half of next year.
Last time you mentioned that the subsidy could come maybe a few quarters afterwards, maybe into the end of the year, and so I think at this point, maybe it's very important to set reasonable gross margin expectations for first half of next year, and so I think number one, roughly how much depreciation are we going to recognize into 2025 versus 2024? How many US capacity are we expecting to ramp? And then based on the current customer engagement, what kind of utilization rates and also margin should we expect going to 2025?
Yes, we do. We internally have the data, but I think according to company policy, we're not going to disclose so much detail. We internally of course have everything. But that's definitely a very good question, and so we internally check very detailed.
There are still some uncertainty because the market's visibility is still not really that good yet. So we have several versions. What if the revenue is like this? What if the revenue is like that? So we have several versions. We're working with our customer. According to company policy, we don't really offer any outlook to the market. So Sunny, I apologize that it's confidential, so I cannot disclose that much detail.
No problem. I think for your current capacities, maybe it's fair to assume gross margin should bottom out into 2025 as utilization rate gets better. But for your new capacity in the US, could you maybe share with over 30% subsidy, but then there's still new depreciation versus your current capacity with very low depreciation?
Should we assume as you start to ramp US capacity, that will still weigh on your corporate gross margin in the next few years?
Yes, at least the next two, three years. I mean, when it is fully loaded, I think it will be okay. But before it's fully loaded, US gross margin will be still a little bit lower than the group's overall gross margin. But there are several positive factors of our overseas fabs. First of all, as I said earlier, that energy cost is our second largest cost from our overall production cost. It accounts for around right now 8%-9% of our total. It's not our total cost, it's revenue-based. So it's about 8% to 9%.
But in Texas, our Texas unit cost, electricity cost is just about lower than one-third of Taiwan electricity cost. So that means that my quick calculation is that if the energy costs reduce, that definitely will make US operations gross margin a little bit better than Asia if the depreciation is identical, it's the same. But of course, Asia fab now, depreciation cost is much lower than new fab. So new fab, I think new fab will gain some benefit from lower electricity cost, but higher depreciation cost. But another benefit, another advantage of US operations is that because US customer, we ship most of our wafer will be shipped to US customers. And the transportation cost will be much lower than from Asia shipped all the way to US
I just received a report from our Japan operation that the freight from Japan to Europe now for 300-millimeter wafer. It used to be around JPY 300 per wafer, the freight per 300-millimeter wafer. But now starting from this month, it's JPY 550. Suddenly almost double. For the US, it's much higher than much higher than this number. If we ship from our Texas fab to American customer, I think the freight will be very helpful as well. You know that $5 or $6, that means because of , actually it's not a small number for us. That's why I think that we should be able to bottom out gross margin-wise next year. As long as that we have loading, that's the most critical thing.
As long as we have better loading, I think that we should be able to have much better gross margin next year.
Got it. Thank you very much, Doris. Maybe if I could squeeze in one last question. Sure. Just want to know more about your expansion strategy and pace in the US I think on one hand, it's important for you to get to economy of scale, i.e., get to the 4 billion CapEx for capacities. But I think on the other hand, if we look at the key expansion in the US, only TSMC's fab in Arizona is expanding according to the plan. Intel, Samsung, they are all pushing out the capacity ramp-up. And so for you, how should we think about the ramp-up pace for you to get to the full scale?
By end of 2025, we should be able, as long as the qualification result is smooth. I think we will be able to reach full utilization by end of 2025 or first half 2026, depends on the market demand and also the qualification status.
But that's from a utilization point of view. But how about for capacity point of view to get to the $4 billion investment?
$4 billion. Okay. So we're not going to build $4 billion now. That's phase two, phase one plus phase two. So we're working on phase one only.
Got it. No problem. Thank you very much.
Thank you, Sunny.
Ladies and gentlemen, we would like to express our sincere appreciation to all of you for your valuable participation today. The earnings call concludes now. Thank you and have a wonderful evening.
T hank you very much. Thank you. Have a good day. Thank you.