Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday raised its revenue forecast by nearly 2 percent for the current quarter due to the weak New Taiwan dollar, but expects the figure to shrink next quarter.
TSMC said revenue is expected to rise to between NT$211 billion and NT$213 billion (US$6.35 billion and US$6.4 billion) this quarter, up from between NT$207 billion and NT$210 billion it forecast in July.
TSMC said in a statement that its “third-quarter revenue will exceed the company’s guidance given on July 16 due to a more favorable US dollar exchange rate to the NT dollar.”
TSMC’s July projection was based on the assumption that US$1 would trade for NT$31. The NT dollar fell to NT$33.25 against the greenback yesterday.
The new forecast indicates that TSMC’s revenue will grow by between 2.71 percent and 3.68 percent from NT$205.44 billion last quarter.
However, the company said revenue is expected to fall in the fourth quarter to between NT$198 billion and NT$204 billion, a decline of between 4.23 percent and 6.16 percent.
Profit margins next quarter are to be similar to those this quarter, TSMC said.
For the entire year, revenue is expected to grow by a double-digit percentage annually, in line with the company’s earlier forecast, TSMC said.
The company’s fourth-quarter revenue forecast fell short of Daiwa Capital Markets analyst Rick Hsu’s (徐稦成) estimate of NT$212 billion.
Hsu projected that TSMC would gain more A9 processor orders from Apple Inc next quarter to offset customers’ inventory corrections.
“It’s disappointing, even with the benefits of the currency move, and shows there’s weakness in orders from smartphone chip customers like Qualcomm, MediaTek (聯發科) and also non-smartphone players due to slow inventory digestion,” Sanford C. Bernstein analyst Mark Li said. “They will meet their full-year target, but only thanks to the currency move.”
Global smartphone shipment growth is expected to slow this year and average 7.9 percent during the next five years, compared with 34 percent growth over the past five years. Sales of all types of devices are to decline by 1 percent this year, Gartner Inc said in a report yesterday.
Additional reporting by Bloomberg
Huawei Technologies Co’s (華為) latest smartphones carry a version of the advanced made-in-China processor it revealed last year, results from an independent analysis showed. This underscored the Chinese company’s ability to sustain production of the controversial chip. The Pura 70 series unveiled last week sports the Kirin 9010 processor, research firm TechInsights found during a teardown of the device. This is a newer version of the Kirin 9000s, made by Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (SMIC, 中芯) for the Mate 60 Pro, which had alarmed officials in Washington who thought a 7-nanometer chip was beyond China’s capabilities. Huawei has enjoyed a resurgence since
purpose: Tesla’s CEO sought to meet senior Chinese officials to discuss the rollout of its ‘full self-driving’ software in China and approval to transfer data they had collected Tesla Inc CEO Elon Musk arrived in Beijing yesterday on an unannounced visit, where he is expected to meet senior officials to discuss the rollout of "full self-driving" (FSD) software and permission to transfer data overseas, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. Chinese state media reported that he met Premier Li Qiang (李強) in Beijing, during which Li told Musk that Tesla's development in China could be regarded as a successful example of US-China economic and trade cooperation. Musk confirmed his meeting with the premier yesterday with a post on social media platform X. "Honored to meet with Premier Li
Dutch brewing company Heineken NV on Friday announced an investment of NT$13.5 billion (US$414.62 million) over the next five years in Taiwan. The first multinational brewing company to operate in Taiwan, Heineken made the statement at a ceremony held at its brewery in Pingtung County. It also outlined its efforts to make the brewery “net zero” by 2030. Heineken has been in the Taiwanese market for 20 years, Heineken Taiwan managing director Jeff Wu (吳建甫) said. With strong support from local consumers, the Dutch brewery decided to transition from sales to manufacturing in the country, Wu said. Heineken assumed majority ownership and management rights
GROWTH DRIVERS: The firm expects to benefit from generative AI applications for smartphones, higher average selling price of flagship chips and market share gains Smartphone chip designer MediaTek Inc (聯發科) yesterday said it estimates that revenue would expand at an annual rate of about 15 percent this year, as a proliferation of generative artificial intelligence (AI) applications for premium smartphones are fueling demand for its flagship smartphone chips. It expects its smartphone chip revenue to outgrow the company’s average growth rate this year, benefiting primarily from the higher average selling price of its flagship smartphone chips and market share gains. The flagship chip revenue is to soar 50 percent year-on-year this year, MediaTek told an investor conference yesterday. As a whole, this year’s gross margin is