Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s top contract chipmaker, yesterday said it would stick to its forecast that the global chip industry would grow 4 percent this year, despite the global economic outlook having turned murkier recently.
However, the slowing of the economic recovery will not lead to a double-dip recession, TSMC chairman Morris Chang (張忠謀) told reporters after the chipmaker’s annual general meeting.
In April, Chang cut his annual revenue growth forecast for the global chip industry (excluding the memory-chip sector) to 4 percent, down from the 7 percent forecast in January.
He attributed the downward adjustment to a slower economic recovery in Japan in the wake of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, as well as global economic uncertainties owing to the unresolved debt crisis in Europe and a rising inflation risk in China.
Revenues for the world’s contract chip manufacturers this year will see 12 percent year-on-year growth, unchanged from the previous estimate, Chang said.
TSMC has set an internal target of increasing revenues by 20 percent in US dollar terms this year from last year, Chang said.
Last year, TSMC’s revenues hit a record high of NT$419.54 billion (US$14.58 billion), up 41.9 percent from NT$295.74 billion in 2009.
Meanwhile, shareholders approved the distribution of a NT$3 cash dividend per common share based on last year’s historical high net profits of NT$161.61 billion, or NT$6.23 per share. That represented a 3.9 percent dividend yield, compared with TSMC’s stock price of NT$76.9 yesterday.
Last year, TSMC also delivered a cash dividend of NT$3 per common share based on net profits of NT$89.22 billion made in 2009.
Shareholders also approved a plan to spin off the company’s solar and solid state lighting businesses to create two new companies.
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