Taiwan Semiconductor Manufact-uring Co (TSMC, 台積電) and United Microelectronics Corp (UMC, 聯電), the world's two largest contract chipmakers, yesterday reported revenue declines last month.
Both companies supply chips to several of the biggest firms in the global high-tech sector, and the semiconductors are used in a variety of products, like desktop computers, notebooks, mobile phones and digital cameras.
TSMC, the world's top producer of made-to-order chips, said revenue fell for the second straight month last month, despite rising 13 percent compared to last year.
TSMC said its revenue last month rose to NT$22.97 billion (US$698.13 million) from NT$20.30 billion a year ago.
Last month's revenue was lower than September's NT$23.17 billion. It was the second straight decline since monthly revenue peaked at a record NT$23.41 billion in August, the company said, without elaborating.
Analysts had largely expected TSMC's revenue to fall a bit last month, after the company said at its third-quarter investors' conference that revenue for the current quarter wouldn't likely match the July-September period as customers clear inventories after overestimating demand for electronics including computers and mobile phones.
The industry's excess inventory of chips may take three quarters to eliminate, chairman Morris Chang (
UMC said yesterday that its revenue last month fell sharply from September.
The company said last month's revenue was NT$10.06 billion, down from September's NT$11.86 billion.
However, last month's figure was a rise of 31 percent from the NT$7.67 billion registered in October last year.
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