TSMC reports record sales last month

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufact-uring Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world's largest producer of made-to-order chips, yesterday reported a record monthly high for sales for last month amid strong demand.

The company said revenue last month rose 29 percent to NT$21.72 billion (US$649.34 million), up sharply from NT$16.81 billion in May last year.

TSMC's previous record was in April, when revenue hit NT$20.63 billion.

The strong sales bode well for the global tech sector. TSMC is a bellwether for the industry because it produces a variety of chips for gadgets ranging from mobile phones and laptops to electronic games and digital cameras.

In the first five months of the year, TSMC's revenue reached NT$99.86 billion, up 40 percent from NT$71.40 billion a year earlier, the company said.

"TSMC's wafer shipments for May 2004 continued to grow over April 2004 due to increased market demand," Lora Ho (何麗梅), chief financial officer at TSMC, said in a statement.

Earlier yesterday, investment banking company Goldman Sachs said it downgraded its recommendations on the stocks of TSMC and rival United Microelectronics Corp (聯電).

Rising inventory levels at the chipmakers' customers and intensifying competition would be the most likely causes for the slower growth, Goldman Sachs analyst Donald Lu said.