Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday posted its weakest monthly revenue in eight months at NT$44.33 billion (US$1.5 billion) as demand shrank amid inventory digestion.
The figure marked a 14.4 percent contraction from October’s NT$44.3 billion.
On an annual basis, revenue rose slightly by 0.1 percent from NT$44.3 billion.
TSMC chairman Morris Chang (張忠謀) said the current quarter was likely to be a relatively low season.
He expected a steep rebound in the second quarter of next year, according to the report by the Chinese-language Next Magazine last week.
Growth momentum would extend into the third and fourth quarters next year, Chang said.
The world’s top contract chipmaker told an investors’ conference on Oct. 17 that revenue was likely to drop to between NT$144 billion and NT$147 billion this quarter, representing a quarterly decline ranging from 9.58 percent to 11.43 percent, compared with the NT$162.58 billion for last quarter, due to softening demand for high-end smartphones and clients’ inventory adjustments.
TSMC counts Qualcomm Inc, Nvidia Inc and Broadcom Inc among its major customers.
Half of TSMC’s revenue came from the communications sector, data showed.
Rival United Microelectronics Corp (UMC, 聯電) yesterday said revenue declined 1.15 percent last month to NT$10.35 billion from October, its fourth consecutive month of declines and hitting the lowest level since April’s NT$10.28 billion.
The figure represented a 2.53 percent increase from NT$10.09 billion in November last year.
UMC chief executive Yen Po-wen (嚴博文) last month told investors that inventory correction and a weak macroeconomy could result in an 8 percent to 10 percent sequential decline in the company’s wafer shipments this quarter.
Shares in TSMC dropped 0.95 percent to NT$104, while UMC stock price rose 0.41 percent to NT$12.25.
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