Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday reported consolidated sales last month reached NT$317.66 billion (US$9.98 billion), the highest ever for the month of February, driven by robust demand for chips built using the company’s advanced 3-nanometer (3nm) process.
Last month’s figure was up 22.2 percent from a year earlier, but fell 20.8 percent from January, the world’s largest contract chipmaker said in a statement.
For the first two months of the year, TSMC posted cumulative sales of NT$718.91 billion, up 29.9 percent from a year earlier.
Photo: Daniel Ceng, AP
Analysts attributed the growth to sustained global demand for artificial intelligence (AI) products using TSMC’s 3nm chips.
TSMC has forecast first-quarter revenue of US$34.6 billion to US$35.8 billion, with market observers believing the chipmaker is likely to meet the target, helped by growing demand from AI-focused customers.
AI chip giant Nvidia Corp has become a key driver of TSMC’s revenue, contributing NT$726.9 billion, or about 19 percent, to TSMC’s total sales last year, making it the company’s largest customer.
During a visit to Taiwan last month, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) said the company would require a large number of wafers in the coming years and projected that TSMC’s production capacity could more than double over the next decade to meet surging AI demand.
TSMC has said it expects this year to be a year of strong growth, with revenue in US dollars projected to grow by about 30 percent, outperforming the broader semiconductor industry.
Shares in TSMC, which accounts for more than 40 percent of the local main board’s total market value, rose 2.21 percent to close at NT$1,850 yesterday.
The rise in TSMC contributed about 320 points to the TAIEX’s rebound, with the index closing up 661.45 points, or 2.06 percent, at 32,771.87, after plunging 4.43 percent the previous day.
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