Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday reported record sales for last month, reflecting the company’s forecast for rebounding demand across the board amid the improving global economy.
Last month’s sales grew 50.6 percent to NT$33.81 billion (US$1.07 billion) compared with April last year, a company statement said. On a monthly basis, that represented a 5.9 percent increase from its NT$31.92 billion in sales in March.
“This result is above our expectations of 3 percent month-on-month growth to NT$32.9 billion,” Randy Abrams, a semiconductor analyst with Credit Suisse, said in a report issued yesterday.
On April 27, TSMC told investors that revenues may grow more than 8.5 percent quarterly to a historical high of NT$100 billion to NT$102 billion in the second quarter of the year.
TSMC said the faster-than-expected recovery in demand has caused supply constraints and it plans to break ground on a new 12-inch fab in Taichung in the middle of this year.
TSMC has budgeted record-high capital spending of US$4.8 billion for this year.
Local rival United Microelectronics Corp (UMC, 聯電) last week said its sales last month fell 1.69 percent month-on-month, growth of 35.51 percent year-on-year, to NT$9.32 billion.
TSMC shares rose 0.67 percent to NT$59.80 yesterday, while UMC shares rose 1.35 percent to NT$15.
In separate news, Chimei Innolux Corp (奇美電子), the nation’s biggest LCD panel maker by market share, said sales last month hit NT$49.9 billion.
That matched chief executive Tuan Hsing-chien’s (段行建) forecast in March that the company’s monthly revenues would be between NT$40 billion and NT$50 billion this year.
The newly formed company shipped 11.4 million TV and PC panels last month, outpacing rival AU Optronics Corp’s (友達光電) 9.66 million units.
Meanwhile, Chunghwa Picture Tubes Ltd (中華映管), the nation’s No. 3 LCD panel maker, said in a company statement filed to the Taiwan Stock Exchange yesterday that it had borrowed NT$22.8 billion in syndicated loans from 22 banks led by Bank of Taiwan (台灣銀行).
The Taoyuan-based panel maker said it planned to use the proceeds to repay debt and to replenish operating capital.
GROWING CONCERN: Some senior Trump administration officials opposed the UAE expansion over fears that another TSMC project could jeopardize its US investment Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) is evaluating building an advanced production facility in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and has discussed the possibility with officials in US President Donald Trump’s administration, people familiar with the matter said, in a potentially major bet on the Middle East that would only come to fruition with Washington’s approval. The company has had multiple meetings in the past few months with US Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff and officials from MGX, an influential investment vehicle overseen by the UAE president’s brother, the people said. The conversations are a continuation of talks that
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