Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest chipmaker, yesterday said its pre-tax profits would grow more than 40 percent annually this year, thanks to a resilient rebound in demand amid an improved global economy.
The Hsinchu-based chipmaker has outgrown the overall semiconductor industry over the years, TSMC chairman Morris Chang (張忠謀) said.
“This year is no exception. We will grow more than 40 percent [in terms of profits before tax and revenues] because last year was not good,” he said.
The global semiconductor industry would grow about 30 percent in revenue this year, Chang said, reiterating his previous forecast for the industry.
To meet Chang’s target, TSMC’s management team and staff would have to make at least NT$134 billion (US$4.21 billion) in profit before tax this year as the chipmaker made NT$95.46 billion in pre-tax profit last year.
When asked whether TSMC was still unable to satisfy customer demand, Chang said the “line is still there.”
Next year, “the industry will grow 5 percent [annually by revenue] and I believe we will grow more than 10 percent [in pre-tax profit and revenue],” Chang said.
“We’re in the right business. We are in the foundry [contract chip manufacturing] business. I think the innovative business model was an important reason for our success,” he said.
In June, Chang projected that the overall semiconductor industry would grow by between 4 percent and 7 percent over the period from next year to 2016.
Commenting on the chipmaker’s new green energy businesses, including solar energy and LEDs, Chang said revenues from the new businesses would account for roughly 10 percent of the company’s total revenues in 2015.
Rick Tsai (蔡力行), president of TSMC’s new businesses division, said yesterday TSMC was targeting becoming one of the world’s top-five solar cell module suppliers within the next five years using the CIGS technology transferred from thin-film solar cell maker Stion Corp, in which TSMC invested US$50 million in June to take a 21 percent stake.
“We believe CIGS technology is the most promising technology, given its high conversion efficiency and low manufacturing cost,” Tsai said.
The CIGS technology is still currently in the development stage and not one company in the world has massively produced solar cell modules using the technology.
Tsai said the chipmaker is looking to boost efficiency to 14 percent in the next three years from the current 12 percent and to 16 percent within five years.
TSMC said it planned to invest US$258 million in building its first solar cell module plant, which will have a 200 megawatt capacity each year during the initial phase and increase to 700 megawatt after the second-phase construction is completed.
A research and development center is also part of the investment plan.
The company is expected to ship its first batch of solar cell modules at the end of next year or early in 2012.
Quanta Computer Inc (廣達) chairman Barry Lam (林百里) is expected to share his views about the artificial intelligence (AI) industry’s prospects during his speech at the company’s 37th anniversary ceremony, as AI servers have become a new growth engine for the equipment manufacturing service provider. Lam’s speech is much anticipated, as Quanta has risen as one of the world’s major AI server suppliers. The company reported a 30 percent year-on-year growth in consolidated revenue to NT$1.41 trillion (US$43.35 billion) last year, thanks to fast-growing demand for servers, especially those with AI capabilities. The company told investors in November last year that
Intel Corp has named Tasha Chuang (莊蓓瑜) to lead Intel Taiwan in a bid to reinforce relations between the company and its Taiwanese partners. The appointment of Chuang as general manager for Intel Taiwan takes effect on Thursday, the firm said in a statement yesterday. Chuang is to lead her team in Taiwan to pursue product development and sales growth in an effort to reinforce the company’s ties with its partners and clients, Intel said. Chuang was previously in charge of managing Intel’s ties with leading Taiwanese PC brand Asustek Computer Inc (華碩), which included helping Asustek strengthen its global businesses, the company
Taiwanese suppliers to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC, 台積電) are expected to follow the contract chipmaker’s step to invest in the US, but their relocation may be seven to eight years away, Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) said yesterday. When asked by opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Niu Hsu-ting (牛煦庭) in the legislature about growing concerns that TSMC’s huge investments in the US will prompt its suppliers to follow suit, Kuo said based on the chipmaker’s current limited production volume, it is unlikely to lead its supply chain to go there for now. “Unless TSMC completes its planned six
TikTok abounds with viral videos accusing prestigious brands of secretly manufacturing luxury goods in China so they can be sold at cut prices. However, while these “revelations” are spurious, behind them lurks a well-oiled machine for selling counterfeit goods that is making the most of the confusion surrounding trade tariffs. Chinese content creators who portray themselves as workers or subcontractors in the luxury goods business claim that Beijing has lifted confidentiality clauses on local subcontractors as a way to respond to the huge hike in customs duties imposed on China by US President Donald Trump. They say this Chinese decision, of which Agence
RSS