Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, yesterday gave an upbeat outlook for this year, saying the company would be running at full capacity in the next two quarters on the back of growing demand for mobile devices.
The growth momentum over the past few years will “extend into this year,” TSMC chairman Morris Chang (張忠謀) told shareholders at the annual general meeting. “The outlook looks good.”
TSMC’s massive investments over the past four or five years have started to bear fruit, Chang said, adding that the firm would continue to invest in equipment and technologies as the addressable markets are expanding.
Last year, TSMC reported a record net profit of NT$188.15 billion (US$6.27 billion), or NT$6.41 per share.
Revenue also hit a historical high at NT$597 billion.
Over the next few years, TSMC’s revenue growth would continue to outpace that of the global semiconductor industry, Chang said.
TSMC forecast that the global would grow by 3 percent to 5 percent annually over the next five years.
Commenting on TSMC’s competition with Intel Corp and Samsung Electronics Co, Chang said he was “very satisfied with TSMC’s competitive position.”
TSMC is ahead of Samsung in developing 14-nanometer (nm) and 16nm process technologies, Chang said.
The company is scheduled to start commercial production of chips using 16nm process technology in January. It began mass production of 20nm chips in January this year.
TSMC does not view Intel as a competitor given the US firm’s focus on chips for large devices, whereas TSMC mainly manufactures chips for mobile devices, Chang said.
Aside from technology leadership, TSMC’s capacity and manufacturing capabilities are much stronger than Samsung’s, he said.
And when it comes to winning customer’s trust, TSMC is doing a better job than Samsung, he added.
Chang said these four factors — technology, capacity, manufacturing capability and customer’s trust — are TSMC’s winning combination.
Shareholders yesterday approved a company proposal to distribute a cash dividend of NT$3 per share. That translates into a dividend yield of 2.44 percent based on TSMC’s closing price of NT$123 yesterday.
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