The world's largest supplier of made-to-order chips, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), yesterday said sales rose 14.2 percent to a record of NT$26.2 billion (US$778 million) last month, according to a company statement.
The figure marked a 4 percent rise from NT$25.23 billion two months ago.
"Due to continued demand recovery from our customers, wafer shipments for October 2005 increased over September 2005," company vice president and chief financial officer Lora Ho (
Sales in the 10 months to last month fell to NT$209.65 billion from NT$215.09 billion in the same period last year, the statement read.
Shares of TSMC rose by 1.47 percent to close at NT$55.30 on the Taiwan Stock Exchange yesterday. The company released its sales report after the stock market closed. Rival United Microelectronics Corp (
Taiwan Ratings Corp (
"The ratings reflect TSMC's dominant market position in the global semiconductor foundry sector, advanced technology capability, high manufacturing efficiency, and solid customer base," Taiwan Ratings said in a statement.
TSMC's strong business position is underpinned by a market share of around 50 percent of the global semiconductor foundry sector, which is significantly larger than that of its rivals.
"The ratings also reflect TSMC's very strong profitability and cash flow, abundant liquidity, and very low leverage," the statement added.
The Semiconductor Industry Association, a San Jose, California-based trade group, predicts worldwide chip sales will gain 8.8 percent next year, from a 6 percent pace projected for this year. Last year, global chip sales rose 28 percent to US$213 billion.
Although the semiconductor foundry sector is highly cyclical and intensely competitive, Taiwan Ratings said TSMC has been able to widen the distance between itself and its competitors.
This is reflected in TSMC's very high gross margin, which averaged 41 percent in the first three quarters of this year and is expected to reach 47-49 percent in the fourth quarter. This is significantly higher than its competitors' average gross margin of less than 20 percent. Major factors contributing toward TSMC's high margin are its low manufacturing costs, which result in a lower breakeven level, and better product mix with more products using advanced technologies (0.13-micron and below), which garner higher selling prices.
On Tuesday, for instance, TSMC's board approved capital spending of US$706.5 million for expansion as the company will use the money to increase capacity of the company's 12-inch plants' 65 nanometer process, and its 8-inch plants' 0.18-micron and 0.15-micron processes.
Moreover, TSMC has very strong profitability, according to Taiwan Ratings.
The chipmaker reported record-high revenues of NT$256 billion last year, while net income reached NT$92.3 billion. Revenues are expected to reach new record highs of more than NT$260 billion this year, while net income is projected at around NT$92 billion.
JITTERS: Nexperia has a 20 percent market share for chips powering simpler features such as window controls, and changing supply chains could take years European carmakers are looking into ways to scratch components made with parts from China, spooked by deepening geopolitical spats playing out through chipmaker Nexperia BV and Beijing’s export controls on rare earths. To protect operations from trade ructions, several automakers are pushing major suppliers to find permanent alternatives to Chinese semiconductors, people familiar with the matter said. The industry is considering broader changes to its supply chain to adapt to shifting geopolitics, Europe’s main suppliers lobby CLEPA head Matthias Zink said. “We had some indications already — questions like: ‘How can you supply me without this dependency on China?’” Zink, who also
The number of Taiwanese working in the US rose to a record high of 137,000 last year, driven largely by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (TSMC, 台積電) rapid overseas expansion, according to government data released yesterday. A total of 666,000 Taiwanese nationals were employed abroad last year, an increase of 45,000 from 2023 and the highest level since the COVID-19 pandemic, data from the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) showed. Overseas employment had steadily increased between 2009 and 2019, peaking at 739,000, before plunging to 319,000 in 2021 amid US-China trade tensions, global supply chain shifts, reshoring by Taiwanese companies and
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) received about NT$147 billion (US$4.71 billion) in subsidies from the US, Japanese, German and Chinese governments over the past two years for its global expansion. Financial data compiled by the world’s largest contract chipmaker showed the company secured NT$4.77 billion in subsidies from the governments in the third quarter, bringing the total for the first three quarters of the year to about NT$71.9 billion. Along with the NT$75.16 billion in financial aid TSMC received last year, the chipmaker obtained NT$147 billion in subsidies in almost two years, the data showed. The subsidies received by its subsidiaries —
At least US$50 million for the freedom of an Emirati sheikh: That is the king’s ransom paid two weeks ago to militants linked to al-Qaeda who are pushing to topple the Malian government and impose Islamic law. Alongside a crippling fuel blockade, the Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM) has made kidnapping wealthy foreigners for a ransom a pillar of its strategy of “economic jihad.” Its goal: Oust the junta, which has struggled to contain Mali’s decade-long insurgency since taking power following back-to-back coups in 2020 and 2021, by scaring away investors and paralyzing the west African country’s economy.
RSS