Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the sole chip supplier for Apple Inc’s iPhone series, yesterday raised its revenue forecast again, saying that robust demand for 5G smartphones and high-performance-computing (HPC) would help boost revenue this year by 30 percent in US dollar terms.
Three months ago, the chipmaker estimated that revenue would grow 20 percent this year from last year, reaching its long-term growth target of 15 to 20 percent annually.
“Moving into the fourth quarter, we expect our growth in revenue to be supported by strong demand for our industry-leading 5-nanometer technology driven by 5G smartphone launches and HPC-related applications,” TSMC chief executive officer C.C. Wei (魏哲家) told investors in a telephone conference.
Photo: Chen I-hwa, Bloomberg
TSMC’s net profit climbed 13.6 percent to a new record high of NT$137.31 billion (US$4.74 billion) last quarter, from NT$120.82 billion in the second quarter, and grew 35.9 percent from NT$101.07 billion a year earlier.
Earnings per share rose to NT$5.3 last quarter from NT$4.66 a quarter earlier and NT$3.9 a year earlier.
The chipmaker expects the penetration rate of 5G smartphones to reach 17 or 18 percent this year, with each 5G phone featuring 30 to 40 percent more semiconductors than 4G models.
Given the growth momentum of 5G and HPC-related applications, TSMC said it is confident that 5-nanometer technology — the most advanced technology available — would make up 8 percent of the company’s total wafer revenue this year, Wei said, adding that this figure might increase to 20 percent next year.
This quarter, revenue would grow mildly to between US$12.4 billion and US$12.7 billion, representing growth of between 2.14 and 4.61 percent from US$12.14 billion last quarter, TSMC said.
Gross margin is to reach between 51.5 and 53.5 percent, compared with 53.4 percent last quarter, due to unfavorable foreign-exchange rates and margin dilution from its 5-nanometer technology, it added.
TSMC said that Huawei Technologies Co (華為) would not contribute to its revenue this quarter, as it stopped shipping chips to the Chinese company on Sept. 15.
The chipmaker dismissed recent media speculations that it has obtained approval from the US government to resume the supply of certain chips to Huawei.
This was “unfounded,” Wei said.
Asked by an investor whether Washington’s export restrictions on Semiconductor Manufacturing International Co (中芯國際), China’s biggest foundry, would provide a boon for TSMC, Wei said the company is evaluating the impact.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, heightened US-China trade and other geopolitical tensions, customers tended to increase their inventory, Wei said, adding that customers are concerned about potential long-lasting supply disruptions.
Asked if TSMC has plans to build factories outside Taiwan to minimize operational risks amid heightened tension across the Taiwan Strait, Wei said that it would keep its investment focus on Taiwan, as it remains the center of its research, development and manufacturing.
The chipmaker also adjusted upward its worldwide revenue forecast for the semiconductor industry to a 5 percent annual growth, rather than a slight increase.
The foundry sector would grow about 20 percent year-on-year, faster than the previous estimate of between 15 and 17 percent, it said.
“Due to the pandemic, digital transformation has been accelerated,” Wei said.
It was late morning and steam was rising from water tanks atop the colorful, but opaque-windowed, “soapland” sex parlors in a historic Tokyo red-light district. Walking through the narrow streets, camera in hand, was Beniko — a former sex worker who is trying to capture the spirit of the area once known as Yoshiwara through photography. “People often talk about this neighborhood having a ‘bad history,’” said Beniko, who goes by her nickname. “But the truth is that through the years people have lived here, made a life here, sometimes struggled to survive. I want to share that reality.” In its mid-17th to
‘MAKE OR BREAK’: Nvidia shares remain down more than 9 percent, but investors are hoping CEO Jensen Huang’s speech can stave off fears that the sales boom is peaking Shares in Nvidia Corp’s Taiwanese suppliers mostly closed higher yesterday on hopes that the US artificial intelligence (AI) chip designer would showcase next-generation technologies at its annual AI conference slated to open later in the day. The GPU Technology Conference (GTC) in California is to feature developers, engineers, researchers, inventors and information technology professionals, and would focus on AI, computer graphics, data science, machine learning and autonomous machines. The event comes at a make-or-break moment for the firm, as it heads into the next few quarters, with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s (黃仁勳) keynote speech today seen as having the ability to
NEXT GENERATION: The company also showcased automated machines, including a nursing robot called Nurabot, which is to enter service at a Taichung hospital this year Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) expects server revenue to exceed its iPhone revenue within two years, with the possibility of achieving this goal as early as this year, chairman Young Liu (劉揚偉) said on Tuesday at Nvidia Corp’s annual technology conference in San Jose, California. AI would be the primary focus this year for the company, also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), as rapidly advancing AI applications are driving up demand for AI servers, Liu said. The production and shipment of Nvidia’s GB200 chips and the anticipated launch of GB300 chips in the second half of the year would propel
The battle for artificial intelligence supremacy hinges on microchips, but the semiconductor sector that produces them has a dirty secret: It is a major source of chemicals linked to cancer and other health problems. Global chip sales surged more than 19 percent to about US$628 billion last year, according to the Semiconductor Industry Association, which forecasts double-digit growth again this year. That is adding urgency to reducing the effects of “forever chemicals” — which are also used to make firefighting foam, nonstick pans, raincoats and other everyday items — as are regulators in the US and Europe who are beginning to
RSS