Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) said Thursday it recorded the company’s second-highest-ever monthly sales total in October, amid solid global demand for chips made on the firm’s advanced 5-nanometer process.
In a statement, the world’s largest contract chipmaker said it posted NT$210.27 billion (US$6.61 billion) in consolidated sales in October, up 1 percent compared with September and a year-over-year increase of 56.3 percent.
The company’s October revenues — the third consecutive month consolidated sales passed the NT$200 billion mark — were second only to the NT$218.13 billion recorded in August, according to TSMC.
Analysts said growing demand for smartphones and emerging technologies such as high-performance computing (HPC) devices and automotive electronics boosted shipments of chips made on TSMC’s 5nm process.
TSMC recorded NT$1.85 trillion in consolidated sales over the first 10 months of 2022, up 44 percent from a year earlier, according to the chipmaker.
At an investor conference in mid-October, TSMC forecast fourth-quarter sales ranging from US$19.9 billion to US$20.7 billion.
Despite traditional slow season effects in the last three months of the year, the median point of that range, US$20.3 billion, represents a 0.4 percent rise compared to the third quarter.
Analysts on TSMC outlook
Based on TSMC’s forecast, analysts have predicted monthly sales of NT$208.3 billion to NT$220.9 billion for the November to December period, adding they could not rule out the possibility of the chipmaker surpassing August’s record total.
TSMC has also forecast a year-over-year increase in sales of 34 percent to 36 percent in U.S. dollar terms in 2022.
Meanwhile, the chipmaker said it expected revenues to continue to grow in 2023, with the long-term compound annual growth rate in sales ranging between 15 and 20 percent.
Analysts said TSMC’s shipments should also get a boost from major clients such as U.S.-based graphics processing unit designer Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) and Taiwan’s smartphone IC designer MediaTek Inc. unveiling new products.
Intel
In addition, Intel Corp. of the U.S. is likely to outsource the rollout of central processing units to TSMC.
The Intel units will be made on TSMC’s more advanced 3nm process, which is scheduled to enter mass production later this year.
Despite this, TSMC has cut its capital expenditure for 2022 to about US$36 billion from the lower end of a range between US$40 billion and US$44 billion in the previous capex plan, citing short-term market uncertainty.
TSMC’s decision comes amid stunted demand for semiconductors due to industry-wide inventory adjustments, and the raising of key interest rates to fight fast-growing inflation by central banks around the world.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel