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TSMC reports sales drop

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufac-turing Co (TSMC, 台積電) said sales fell last month because the month had fewer working days than a year earlier. That was the first drop in more than two years.

Sales declined 6.4 percent to NT$17.2 billion (US$558 million) from NT$18.39 billion in February last year, the company said on its Web site today. It was the first decline since December 2002. The company had US$20.8 billion in sales in January.

"The numbers beat market expectations, considering there were fewer working days," said Michael On, managing director at Beyond Asset Management Co in Taipei, who includes TSMC shares among the equivalent of US$30 million held by his company.

TSMC's decline in revenue came after competitor United Microelectronics Corp (聯電) said on Tuesday that sales last month fell 23.53 percent from a year earlier to NT$6.14 billion.

Taiwan had 15 working days last month, compared with 20 days a year earlier. This year's holidays began on Feb. 7 and last year they started Jan. 21.

On said the market had expected TSMC sales last month to fall between 10 to 12 percent. He plans to buy more shares of the company.

TSMC said sales in the January to February period rose 1.3 percent from a year earlier to NT$38.04 billion. The figures were "in line" with company estimates, Lora Ho (何麗梅), TSMC chief financial officer, said in a statement.

"Due to fewer working days as well as fewer wafer shipments, net sales for February decreased by 17.5 percent compared to January," she said.

Ho said the chipmaker is sticking with its previous view on first-quarter earnings. The company said on Jan. 27 it expected to use 78 percent of its capacity in the January to March period, down from 88 percent in the fourth quarter. Product prices should be about the same as the October to December period, the company said.
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