Taiwan's leading contract chip maker, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) said September sales fell more than two-fifths for a third straight month, after the company was forced to slash its full-year profit two weeks ago because of the global slump in demand for electronic products.
The biggest maker of chips for other companies, which is currently operating at about 40 percent of production capacity, said in a statement that sales fell to NT$9.3 billion (US$269 million) from NT$16.4 billion a year earlier. They rose 3 percent from August.
TSMC is suffering its worst slump as demand for the chips powering computers and mobile phones wanes. Global chip sales fell 42 percent in August to US$10.5 billion and September sales also probably declined, the Semiconductor Industry Association said.
"The next six months will be very challenging for TSMC," said Manish Singhai, who helps manage US$1.5 billion for Alliance Capital Management Asia Ltd. "You'll see a lot of volatility in the stock." TSMC shares fell 1.7 percent, or NT$0.80, to NT$46.
The company also said third-quarter revenue rose 2.4 percent from the previous quarter to NT$26.9 billion, in line with its forecast at the end of June. Still, the terrorist attacks in the US will probably delay a rebound in TSMC's business, investors said.
Also, United Microelectronics Corp (UMC,
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