Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the joint Earnings Call for the First Quarter, 2025, hosted by GlobalWafers. I'm Leah Peng, the spokesperson of GlobalWafers. Joining us today is Doris Hsu, the Chairperson of the company. Here's how today's call will unfold. Doris will begin with executive comments, providing insights into overall performance and the strategic direction. We will then address investor questions received in advance, followed by an open Q&A section. The call will last for 60 minutes and conclude at 5:00 P.M. 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 the event, using the Slido feature for written questions and utilizing the Webex hand-raising function for live spoken inquiries. The first is 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 presenters 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. The second method 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 post your questions to the panel. 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 on GlobalWafers. Doris, please.
Thank you, Leah. Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. This is Doris. Before I move on to GlobalWafers Q1 2025's performance, I would like to start with an update regarding the recent sharp appreciation of NT dollar against the US dollar and its impact on GlobalWafers. As you know, GlobalWafers operates through multiple subsidiaries and a global supply chain, with production capacity spread across the United States, Europe, Asia, and other regions. We use a wide range of functional currencies, primarily US dollar, Taiwan dollar, euro, Japanese yen, and Korea won, and also engage with other currencies such as Danish krone, Malaysia ringgit, and RMB. This diversified currency mix naturally hedges against the impact of any single currency fluctuation, making it difficult for us to assess the overall group impact based on one currency alone.
If we look at the specific impact of the recent Taiwan dollar appreciation to GlobalWafers, I think a short answer is that the impact is minimum and is manageable. Our Taiwan production capacity and our Taiwan revenue here in Taiwan account for less than 30% of our GlobalWafers total group operation and capacity. This is keeping our exposure relatively low. Another reason for a little bit more manageable and lower impact for us is that GlobalWafers, as everyone knows, is undergoing global capacity expansion now with major capital expenditure in the United States. A significant portion of our consolidated debts are denominated in US dollar. You know when NT dollar is strong, it is always very good for us to reduce the pressure for repayment and also strengthen our overall financial structures.
I just want to highlight that another very important reason for us to manage the overall currency impact, currency appreciation a little bit better is because we have more US dollar debts than other currencies. That's another reason. According to our internal sensitivity analysis, based on our internal sensitivity analysis, a 1% change in the US dollar exchange rate alone, excluding any interaction with other currencies, would impact GlobalWafers' consolidated OpEx by less than 0.5%, demonstrating the resilience of our overall structure. GlobalWafers' global footprint and diversified currency structure have enabled us to remain resilient amid the recent NT dollar appreciation, while also benefiting from favorable impacts on our financial structure. In today's global volatility, competitiveness involves not only technology capacity and customer partnerships, but also operational costs, tariffs, and currency factors.
With 18 production and operating sites across nine countries, we have the flexibility to create the optimal mix to maintain a leading competitive edge. Globalization is not only a risk diversification strategy, but also it's a core strength of GlobalWafers. We will continue to closely monitor exchange rate dynamics and adjust our risk management strategies as needed to sustain our stable operational and also financial performance. That is a quick update about our overall potential impact from NT dollar sharp appreciation. Next, let me move to our Q1 2025 financial result. GlobalWafers reported a consolidated revenue of NT$ 15.6 billion for the first quarter of 2025, this representing a year-over-year growth of 3.4% and marking the third highest Q1 overall performance in the company's history revenue-wise. Since the start of the year, revenue has steadily recovered, increasing by 10.25% and 2.19% month-over-month in Q1.
This consistent growth reflects a gradual rebound from the early year low and ongoing upward momentum. Our gross margin for the first quarter of 2025 was 26.4%, and operating margin was 16.6%. The net profit margin of the quarter was 9.3%, with earnings per share EPS of NT$ 3.05 per share, NT$ 3.05 per share. The decline in profitability was primarily due to increased depreciation expenses from global capacity expansion, as well as valuation loss on the company's investment in Siltronic AG. While the global expansion plans have led to higher fixed assets depreciation in the short term, this is considered a necessary investment to build our core advantage by expanding advanced 300 mm and specialty wafer capacity. Meanwhile, GlobalWafers and its subsidiaries collectively hold approximately 13.67% of Siltronic's shares. Due to recent fluctuations in Siltronic's share price, a fair value loss was recognized this quarter.
Please note that this is an accounting loss with no actual cash outflow. The additional capacity for 300 mm and specialty wafers is a strategic response to key mega trends driving semiconductor demand, such as advanced process technologies. This expansion not only enhances our product portfolio, but also strengthens our long-term competitiveness amid rising geopolitical risk and accelerated supply chain restructuring. GlobalWafers is transitioning its capacity from a previous Asia-centric model to a globally balanced configuration. We are expanding in six countries across the United States, Europe, and Asia to establish an operating model that truly integrates global scale with local presence. While the depreciation growth associated with expansion is an inevitable challenge in the short term, it really brings the long-term benefit of sustainable competitiveness to GlobalWafers. Throughout the expansion process, GlobalWafers has maintained strong financial flexibility and effective risk management.
All resources have been prudently allocated in alignment with long-term strategies and market demand. In fact, excluding the impacts from expansion-related depreciation and the valuation loss on Siltronic AG, GlobalWafers' gross margin for the first quarter of 2025 would have reached 32.1%, with a net profit margin of 21.9% and EPS of NT$ 6.94 per share, underscoring the soundness of our core operations. As of the end of the first quarter, customers' prepayment amounted to NT$ 30.9 billion, this representing a decline of around NT$ 1 billion or approximately 3.1% versus the end of 2024. Although tariff-related uncertainties have added complexity to short-term planning, they have also highlighted the importance of GlobalWafers' global footprint and localized solutions. We have observed that in response to geopolitical and trade policy risks, customers are accelerating supply chain restructuring by adopting more localized sourcing and actively building buffer inventories to enhance flexibility and risk resilience.
With manufacturing sites spanning three continents and nine countries, GlobalWafers is well positioned to respond promptly to customer suggestions and has successfully captured urgent and reallocated orders. Recently, we have received multiple urgent orders for wafers of various sizes, contributing to higher overall utilization rates. This demonstrates that our global footprint is not only strategically valuable, but is also translating into tangible operational momentum. We currently expect second quarter 2025 revenue to exceed that of the first quarter if NT dollar is relatively stable. Some of our customers believe the worst of the downturn is behind us, though some other caution remains. With our global scale, local presence, and the potential for an industry uptrend, we anticipate full year 2024-2025 revenue to surpass 2024 level. However, the actual year-over-year growth will depend on future developments in trade policy and uncertainties remain. Segment-specific dynamics will also need to be considered.
From a global economic perspective, the macroeconomic environment remains highly uncertain. We have observed a general downward revision in economic growth forecasts, and global trade volumes are expected to continue declining. Recent policy shifts in the U.S. have further added to market uncertainty, impacting investors' and trade market confidence while adding to the volatility of an already fragile global economic landscape. For the semiconductor industry, we are facing a precedented set of challenges, including policy-driven cost variables, subdued consumer demand, and uncertainty surrounding the regional reallocation of capacity of capital investment. Rising geopolitical tensions and tariff fluctuations have further reduced visibility in markets, leading to more cautious procurement behavior and extended inventory adjustment cycles. These factors may exert pressure on industry demand in the short term. While short-term headwinds persist, we remain confident in the industry's mid to long-term growth prospect.
Although overall demand has yet to fully recover, momentum is gradually building. Inventory digestion continues, but signs of replenishment are emerging, particularly in logic and memory applications. Silicon wafer demand is likely to improve in line with broader industry recovery, although tariff developments could introduce additional uncertainty. Recent adjustment to the let me share some comment about the tariff impact to GlobalWafers. Recent adjustments to U.S. tariff policies have driven up manufacturing costs, weakened end-market demand, and increased the risk of global economic slowdown for industries with highly globalized supply chains. Such policies not only create cost pressures, but may also disrupt operational processes and raise barriers to enter in certain markets, thereby affecting overall competitiveness. Although silicon wafers have not yet been included in the latest round of tariff lists, some customers have adopted a wait-and-see approach. Some of our customers.
However, we have also observed some structural shifts taking place. Certain customers have begun to reassess their supply strategies, including increasing regional sourcing, pulling in orders in advance, and also building buffer inventories. Now, that's what some of our customers are doing now. These actions indicate a growing trend toward regional diversification within the silicon wafer supply chain. Amid this period of significant upheaval, we not only recognize the challenges, but also the strategic advantage brought by the global footprint GlobalWafers have cultivated over the years. GlobalWafers initiated its global capacity expansion several years ago, transforming from an Asia-centric operation into a worldwide manufacturing network spanning the United States, Europe, and Asia. This strategic shift has strengthened our ability to withstand policy and tariff fluctuations, enabling us to stay closer to our customers, shorten delivery distances, provide localized support, and reduce our carbon footprint.
Global layout of our expansion efforts is well aligned with today's economic landscape, allowing us to swiftly adapt to regional changes in trade and tariff policies, enhance supply chain agility, and establish long-term stable partnerships with major semiconductor customers worldwide. Combined with our 300mm and specialty product expansion plan in six nations, this positions us to work even more closely with customers to navigate various challenges, strengthening our role as a high-resilience wafer supplier. Last but not least, I would like to share another very important achievement of GlobalWafers. Our corporate governance remains a cornerstone of our commitment to responsible growth and sustainable operation. In 2024, GlobalWafers was once again ranked among the top 5% in the Taipei Exchange Corporate Governance Evaluation. Marking the seventh consecutive year, we have received this distinction.
This consistent recognition is a strong testament to our long-standing efforts in strengthening governance frameworks, promoting transparencies, and driving sustainable leadership. We are also proud to note that our parent companies, SAS, along with affiliate companies Extron and AWSC, were similarly ranked among the top 5% in Taiwan. These collective achievements reflect the group's unified commitment to governance excellence and also continuous improvement across all levels. That's my quick update today. Next, Leah will present industry outlook and our tariff response strategy and overall operational performance and address key investor concerns. Leah, please.
Thank you, Doris. I will quickly update GlobalWafers' recent development and answering questions we have received so far. Please turn to page nine. It is the U.S. economic policy effect on global GDP.
According to the latest forecast by IMF, global economy growth for 2025 has been revised downward by 0.5 percentage points due to the impact of the U.S. high tariff policy. OECD also noted that a 10% U.S. tariff could dampen global GDP growth over the next three years, with North America bearing the brunt. In contrast, the impact on China, India, and the EU is expected to be relatively limited, further heightening uncertainty in end-market demand. On page 10, it is global semiconductor revenue. You can see that global semiconductor market revenues have rebounded in recent quarters, so a recovery remains uneven. This reflects continued softness in end-market demand and inventory restocking. The rebound has not yet fully extended to the silicon wafer sector, as elevated inventory levels and the cautious procurement continue to weigh on demand.
Recent tariff policies, while introducing certain concerns, have also driven customers to reevaluate their supply chain strategies. Many are trying to localize the sourcing and building buffer inventories. With manufacturing sites in three continents, we have leveraged our geographic proximity to customers to capture urgent and redirected orders. This includes both large and small diameter wafers, resulting in higher utilization rates. This highlights our global footprint, enabling swift responses to market changes. Please turn to page 12. According to TrendForce, overall macroeconomic conditions have shown limited improvement. The implementation of new U.S. tariffs has further dampened sentiment, leading to downward revisions in 2025 shipment forecasts for AI servers, smartphones, and notebooks. While most products are still expected to grow under the best case, the projected growth has narrowed, with smartphone shipments flat in the best case and turning negative under the worst case.
Through ongoing dialogue with the tier-one customers, we have observed that despite the challenging environment, many have started to express a more positive outlook. Some of our customers believe that Q1 2025 may represent the downward cycle for several product lines, suggesting that the worst of the downturn is behind us. Although some caution remains, we continue to believe that the semiconductor sector will remain strong growth momentum over the medium to long term. Page 13 is our key actions in response to tariff risks. To reduce the potential impact of tariff policy changes on our operations, we have taken a range of strategic actions to ensure resilience and maintain stable business performance. We are expanding product production in six countries, so now we are accelerating product qualification at the new sites to enable localized supply and minimize exposure to import tariffs.
We are also proactively communicating with our customers to arrange early shipments during the tariff grace period. In the U.S., we have completed phase one of the Texas facility. The site is also designed to support future expansion if needed. In other words, GlobalWafers has established a comprehensive safeguard mechanism, enabling flexible response to various tariff scenarios while continuing to strengthen and expand its market share in the U.S. Operationally, we leverage our global footprint to adjust production routing in response to regional policy shifts, enabling an optimal mix of manufacturing and shipment strategies. We have also established a cross-functional task force team to monitor policy developments, conduct scenario analysis, and implement timely responses. At the same time, we are reinforcing internal cost controls to preserve margin stability under ongoing tariff pressures.
In supply chain management, we are strengthening local sourcing initiatives and incorporating cost-efficient domestic alternatives to reinforce the adaptability and risk resilience of our supply chain. These strategic initiatives demonstrate GlobalWafers' nimbleness in adapting to market changes. On page 14, you can see this is our U.S. expansion progress. To enhance the U.S. supply chain resilience, we have actively advanced our strategic manufacturing expansion through two key facilities. One is GlobalWafers America in Texas. It is the first fully integrated 12 in advanced silicon wafer plant in the U.S. Another one is MEMC in Missouri. It is the only domestic site for 12 in SOI wafers. Both are located in major semiconductor hubs, improving supply chain efficiency and supporting U.S. manufacturing independence and stability. Since breaking ground in late 2022, GWA has completed construction and the workforce training within two years, demonstrating strong execution and teamwork.
The project remains on schedule, with first commercial shipment and the acquirement of occupancy certificate achieved in Q1 2025. Also, in Q2, GWA has received a US$ 5.5 million grant from the local Sherman City, reflecting strong local government support. As production ramps up, GlobalWafers is expected to expand its US customer base, driving higher regional revenue contribution and enhancing the balance of its global customer portfolio. In page five, you can see that in the geopolitical tensions, policy uncertainty, and growing climate risks, the semiconductor industry faces mounting challenges, including talent shortage, trade, and regulatory risks, ESG compliance pressures, and the supply chain disruptions. Facing a rapidly evolving industry, we leverage our global presence and regional integration to focus on five strategic pillars: talent, finance, sustainability, manufacturing, and the supply chain. In page 16, you can see that proximity is one of our key strengths.
As geopolitical and the tariff risks intensify, the importance of a local supply chain has become increasingly clear. We operate a regional manufacturing network that supports global delivery and local responsiveness, achieving a strategic balance between global reach and the local presence. In our supply chain strategy, we prioritize local sourcing and supply diversification to ensure stable delivery and cost efficiency. Cross-site product qualification further enhances our customers' risk resilience and strengthens long-term partnerships. To address carbon reduction requirements, we are actively adopting renewable energy. Our Denmark site achieved RE100 this year, and our US expansion and the new 12 in line in Italy are expected to operate on 100% green power during the ramp-up stage. This means that GlobalWafers delivers resilient and low-carbon wafers. You can see our talent strategy in page 17. We are expanding a global workforce.
GWA's site is actually situated at the Texas and Oklahoma border, and it has created over 2,000 jobs, underscoring our commitment to local employment in the United States. In our financial strategy, we maintain a strong cash position and leverage diversified instruments such as GDRs and bonds to enhance capital flexibility and support our expansion. Strong banking relationships also enable effective diversification of financial risk and ensure stable funding resources. Let's dive into the key financial figures on page 18. GlobalWafers maintains a strong financial foundation, supporting long-term growth and operational stability through prudent leverage and flexible capital strategies. In Q1 this year, we reported interest-bearing debt of NTD 72.7 billion. However, after deducting cash and short-term investments, our net interest-bearing debt is actually reduced to only NTD 23.3 billion.
This represents just 10% of our total asset, indicating a relatively low debt level in proportion to total assets and reflecting a solid financial structure supportive of future growth. Despite bank borrowings for capacity expansion, GlobalWafers recorded net interest income of NTD 0.4 billion in Q1 this year, with an interest coverage ratio of 14 over 14. This reflects effective capital cost management and a solid financial position, and it enables us to support expansion with relatively low interest costs. In terms of liquidity, we currently hold NTD 53 billion in cash and have access to 70% of our available bank credit facilities. Strong liquidity underpins robust debt servicing ability and supports expansion and operations. Our high financial flexibility and risk buffering capacity allow us to respond quickly to market changes and support expansion. Okay, let's move on to our financial highlight in Q1.
Revenue for Q1 is NT$ 15.6 billion, with a gross margin of 26.0%. It is 3.7 percentage points lower than the previous quarter. This reflects the increased depreciation and labor costs from our new capacity. Operating margin was 16.6%, down 5.3 percentage points. Our net profit margin rose by 6.4 percentage points to 9.3%. The EPS is NTD 3.05. CapEx totaled NT$ 11.6 billion. Depreciation was NT$ 2.3 billion, reflecting continued expansion efforts. Please jump to page 22. You can see that our EBITDA and EPS were impacted by two major factors: depreciation from the capacity expansion and market valuation changes of the Siltronic shares we hold. In Q1, if we exclude these factors, our EBITDA margin would have reached close to 40%, and the EPS would have doubled to NTD 26.94. Also, this expansion will lead to a temporary depreciation impact on profitability.
It is a necessary growing pain to become a more competitive company. Okay, please refer to page 23 for the Q1 income statement. To reflect the true operating performance, we present simulated financials, excluding the impact of expansion and the Siltronic mark-to-market losses. If we exclude these factors, you can see that our Q1 gross margin would have reached 32%, and the net profit margin is close to 22%, and EPS will be close to $7 per share. Okay, please refer to page 24. It is our Q1 balance sheet. Cash appears to have declined to NT$ 29 billion. However, when we include deposits over three months and other cash items, actually, our total cash will be amounted to NT$ 53 billion. Inventories edge up to close to NT$ 12 billion.
This is actually resulting from the early preparation, early production to mitigate the expected spike high in summer power rates. Meanwhile, short-term and long-term loans increased. This is to support our expansions. Now, I would like to address both the questions we have received from investors recently and those we anticipate will be raised. First, please let me share with you our major expansion progress. We have launched our global expansion program in 2022, and it includes both brownfield and greenfield projects. While most sites are not complete, three major expansion projects are still in progress. One is GlobalWafers America in Texas. Another one is MEMC in Missouri. Both are in the U.S. And the third one is our Italian fab called SPA in Novara, Italy. It produces a 12-inch wafer. In short, our overall execution is on track, with shipments, ramp-up schedules, and subsidy applications progressing as planned.
First is the shipment. Our GlobalWafers America just completed the first commercial shipment in Q1, and more samples were expected to be shipped in the following months. Our MEMC is actually now supporting multiple samples. SPA, the Italian site, its first sample lot is completed in April. Regarding the subsidies, we have submitted the subsidy application and payment progress. In GWA, just like what I already reported, we have officially received the certificate of occupancy in Q1, and we also submitted a request for the first milestone payment. In SPA, we have already submitted the applications for all eligible spending documents. Regarding the ramp-up schedule, we expect that three fabs will have the modest revenue contribution expected in the first half, and we will have more meaningful ramp-up in the second half.
Okay, the next will be this is the key questions that we have been asking by our customer investors. Will our GWA plan any further expansions? Our immediate priority is to ensure that phase one progress on schedule. Any decision to pursue further expansion will depend on three key factors. One is customer order commitments. Two, the profitability of phase one. Three is the ongoing government support for local wafer production. All three conditions are essential before we proceed with any additional phases. We remain committed to a disciplined and market-driven approach as we evaluate any potential next steps. Next is the tariffs' impact to our financial. What is the financial impact of recent tariff changes on the company? Because now you are undergoing a major capacity expansion. How will that affect your financials?
While the proposed tariffs do not directly target silicon wafers for now, they may indirectly impact our operations by affecting global demand and customer behavior. However, due to the high level of uncertainty in operational dynamics, it is currently difficult to quantify the financial impact. That said, we are closely monitoring the situation and will respond as appropriate. As for the financing of our capacity expansion, we have not experienced any material impact so far. Most expansion projects are already nearing completion, and we maintain a flexible capital position supported by diverse funding sources. These include steady operating cash flow, customer prepayments, and ample credit lines. Additionally, our board has approved the issuance of corporate bonds this year, providing us with further flexibility to optimize our capital structure.
For key expansion projects such as our US fabs, we are drawing from multiple funding sources, retained earnings of local subsidiaries, internal cross-border treasury allocation, and low-interest financing tours. The Taiwan parent company will also inject capital into GWA alongside support from local government incentives. Overall, we will remain nimble in adjusting our investment pace in response to evolving global policies and economic conditions. Next is about the small diameter wafer outlook. Could you please share the outlook and what is your strategy to address the challenges of the weaker wafer market? GlobalWafers' small diameter wafer production primarily aimed at automotive applications and other sectors requiring rigorous safety verification and long production life cycles. We have seen an increase in demand as some competitors exit the small diameter wafer market.
We are one of very few remaining free-market small diameter wafer producers, with some of our key fabs, such as the one in Malaysia, dedicated to small diameter production. As the number of wafer suppliers continues to decrease, more customers are shifting their orders to us. Moreover, the current tariff effects have further boosted the utilization of our Malaysia plant, significantly improving visibility and showcasing the regionalization effect. While price competition in material node is intense, we remain competitive due to the fully depreciated most of our 6-inch and 8-inch wafer production lines. These allow us to maintain stable profits. Our strength lies in offering a broader portfolio of products, including high-quality specialized products like SiC and GaN, which are crucial for various high-end applications. Furthermore, customers are increasingly seeking suppliers who emphasize ESG initiatives and help mitigate geopolitical risks. This makes GlobalWafers an ideal partner. Okay.
Above is our response to the questions. Now, I would like to turn it over to Doris for the Q&A section. Please type your questions in the chat panel or ask questions verbally toward the end of the meeting. Doris, please.
Yes. Before I answer the question, I would like to correct one misspeech error when I made the executive comment. I said that 1% US dollar appreciation or depreciation will affect lower than 0.5% of OpEx . It should have been operating income, not OpEx. Operating margin or operating income. It is not OpEx. Sorry about that. Sorry for the mistake during my speech. Okay, that is the first one. Let me answer the question. The first question is that you mentioned recent rush orders. You mentioned rush orders and customers accelerating the adoption of local supply chains and that your company is well positioned.
Has there been any advancements in the timeline for your U.S. fab ramp-up or revenue contribution? It's very minimum. Actually, our two new operations in the U.S. are still in the qualification stage. So no real revenue yet. No ramp-up yet. When I said rush orders and customer accelerating adoption of local supply, I meant our existing fab in the U.S. You know that we have Globitech, which is a 200 mm fab, APE, and also some compound material. Also, we have 200 mm SOI. We have already received some rush orders from our U.S. fab and also Asian fab as well. We received customers' rush orders asking us to accelerate the shipment to the U.S. because you know that we have a 90-day window grace period, tax-free, tariff-free. That was what we meant during my answer.
For U.S. operation, meaning the new expansion, GWA 300 mm fab and our 300 mm SOI, both of these two fabs are in qualification stage right now. No revenue yet. We are expecting to start ramping up from the second half this year. The second question is that how much additional depreciation has been incurred this year due to investments in the U.S. facility?
Actually, we have the divided depreciation numbers, but we do not have that on hand. I will send you Stanley Wright. I will send you that figure after the earnings call.
Yes. You will have the number later by email. Okay. Next is that do you expect second quarter utilization rate to improve compared to the first quarter given the increase in depreciation and seasonal rise in electricity costs during the summer?
Is there potential for gross margin or operating margin to improve quarter over quarter? Utilization rate is basically slightly better than Q1. Our Q2 utilization rate is slightly better than Q1. Not much, but it is better than Q1. The depreciation keeps increasing. I think that Q2, Q1, I do not expect a big improvement in the gross margin in the second quarter because you know that we keep adding new tools, new capacity. Actually, our depreciation increased month over month. What is even maybe more critical is tariff. If there is any tariff, because you know that in the U.S., we need to import some material. It is not 100% of our materials are made in the U.S.A. We have to import some materials. Because of the tariff, I think some of our material costs have increased as well.
I think that to answer your question, utilization rate is improving. Utilization rate is improving, but the gross margin maybe will be flat. That is our view because of a little bit more depreciation. The next question is that can you provide a rough estimate of how much higher the operating costs are for the US facility compared to Taiwan, particularly considering labor, utility, materials, and compliance-related expenses? We do not have the number yet, but the reason that we cannot share you the estimate is because we do not really know how high the tariff will be for the imported materials. That is some of the concerns.
In general, before we made the decision to make an expansion in the U.S. two years ago, according to our analysis, U.S., especially Texas, can be as competitive as Taiwan or many Asia based on the facility cost is more competitive than Asia, especially electricity cost is more competitive. Labor cost is equivalent because we're going to have higher automation than Asia. The labor cost per wafer will be very similar, very close to Asia. We did not expect too much production, too much COGS costs higher than Asia. That was our estimation two years ago. For now, we do not know. We need to figure out how much tariff we have to pay for the material costs we are going to import from overseas and how much local replacement we can qualify soon enough to lower the cost.
We do not really know this. Maybe by end of the year, we will have a better answer for this question. The second question is, are you seeing Taiwan semicompanies using prime wafers from Chinese peers or still mainly test wafers? We see basically test wafers only. Actually, right now, it seems that even test wafer is getting a little bit lower. That is our view. Maybe it is not. Maybe we do not really have too much detailed information, but so far, it is still test wafers only. Okay, I will correct that one. Next one is, when can we see prepayment go up again? What is the LTA coverage for 12 in in 2025-2026? What is the ASP gap between spot and contract prices for 12-inch in 2025? Let me answer the second part first.
The contract price versus spot price for 12 in in Q2 2025, I think the gap will be somewhere around 10% for 12-inch. That's our view. The prepayment, when the prepayment will go up, I think our original forecast was that starting from 2026, we're expecting to have new LTA, new prepayment again. This maybe will be a little bit affected by the tariff because so many uncertainties now. We don't know the semiconductor tariff yet, and we don't know about the reaction from other countries. If there are a lot of tariffs in several different countries, then maybe local supplies will be very important for many customers. Maybe they will be willing to sign LTAs with a local supplier to make sure that they can get enough local supply. That's one of the possible scenarios.
But also, another concern is that if this tariff or the uncertainty, if it turns out that the overall global demand is softening a little bit, then maybe the new LTA schedule will be pushed out a little bit again. There are a lot of uncertainties now. It is very hard to say when the LTA, when the prepayment will go up again. Our best guess is that maybe it will be second half 2026. That is our view now. Okay, the depreciation, the peak of our depreciation. I believe that the peak of our depreciation will be 2025. I think Q4 2025 will be the peak of our depreciation. Then we will stay flat for several years and start declining in the coming several years. That is our forecast. For GWA, how much tariff do you need to pay if you ship wafer from Taiwan to U.S. customers?
Now it's free now in the next 90 days. Right now, it's free now. We don't know that the Trump administration is going to set another special tax rate for semiconductor. We don't know what will be the tax rate yet. We don't know yet. We're monitoring very closely. For GWA, would you be able to price the wafers higher versus the other fabs? Do you need to fill the fab in the short term through lower price volume wafers? When would most of your LTAs expire? I think high utilization is definitely one of the very key factors to improve our profitability. Based on current assessment, I think we have good LTA protection for our new expansion. We think that we will have okay demand to load our wafers, but it's not 100% loaded.
That means that if local supply is not really that important to our customers, that means that if they do not really need green wafers and local supply solution, then maybe we need to take a little bit of spot orders to make sure that we will 100% fully load our fab as well. It is still very remote. We do not know that. Based on what we are seeing today, many American customers are working with us now. They are asking us to reserve capacity for their US fab. It is very likely that we will have our fab fully loaded very soon after we get qualified. That is our expectation. If there is any open capacity here and there for us for a new fab, the most important thing is fully load 24/7 for the whole fab.
If we here and there, if we have some idle capacity, then we will definitely try to get some, grab some spot orders to fully load our fab. That is our strategy. Okay, when would most of your LTA expire? That is company confidential information. We are not going to disclose now, but we still have many, many years to go. Next is that given the increasing global tensions and emergence of conflicts in various regions, what potential impacts could these developments have on global wafer separation and future growth? That is a very good question, very critical question for us as well. For now, it is very hard to tell, but what we learned from current status is that regionalization is very important because transportation becomes not only expensive, but also unpredictable. Tariff is another concern.
It seems that from our view, it seems that more and more our customers want to have our regional supply, want us to commit our regional supply to our customer. That is our view. Of course, there can be a lot of different scenarios. So far, there are still many uncertainties. It is very hard to predict what will be the potential impacts from the global tensions. Of course, the most immediate global issue is tariff. If the tariff is announced, it is not only semiconductor tariff, but also the country-to-country, what is the different tariff rate from each country, that will be very important for us to follow because we need to monitor what is the competitiveness compared with our peers, competitors. Next is that GlobalWafers previously mentioned that it is evaluating direct eight-inch expansion.
That this year is critical for validation. Is the focus of this validation primarily on EV applications? If the EV market slows down, what is the impact to global silicon carbide? Okay, so we're talking about silicon carbide business. What is the outlook? Silicon EV business is still very tough. We have already developed our 8 in silicon carbide wafers, including silicon carbide, 8 in silicon carbide EPI process. It's always both of the whole thing from all the way from bare wafer to EPI wafer. We have already completed the development of this. We have submitted our sample wafer to tier one customers under qualification right now. The EV business is still very weak this year. Many of our customers still have plenty of 6 in silicon carbide inventory, bare wafer inventory, and EPI wafer inventory in-house.
So silicon carbide business, no matter 6 in or 8 in , this year is pretty soft right now. That is current status. For us, we keep developing all the advancement, the technology. We improve our technology, keep developing new technology to lower the curve loss, improve the quality, lower the defect density of our silicon carbide wafers, and try to develop our special thinning technology of silicon carbide wafer. That is what we are doing. We keep applying new patterns as well. That is our strategy. I believe that silicon carbide is the right material. When the price comes down like this, it will be more attractive than many other different materials. We are still very positive for silicon carbide wafer. This year, 2025, the market is still very soft.
When the EV market is back, I believe that not only, actually, it's not only EV, but also the facility, the grid, grid power, a lot of high-voltage applications and also 5G-related applications, those will need silicon carbide as well. I believe that eight-inch silicon carbide will be the overall, the market share of eight-inch silicon carbide will be higher than six-inch starting from no later than 2028. It will be the year. Eight-inch, the whole silicon carbide industry migrates to eight-inch from six to eight-inch. That's our view. Yes. Next.
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Let me see. Is there anyone who would like to ask questions? I think we already answered all of the questions in the text panel. Now, 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. Thank you. Have a good day. Thank you. Bye-bye.