Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (TSMC, 台積電) revenue in the fourth quarter of last year beat estimates of a decline, as demand from artificial intelligence (AI) firms helped offset sluggish smartphone and laptop chip sales.
Hsinchu-based TSMC, the main chipmaker for Apple Inc and Nvidia Corp, reported sales of NT$176.3 billion (US$5.66 billion) for last month, completing a NT$625.53 billion fourth quarter.
The average analyst estimate for sales over the final three months of last year was NT$616.2 billion.
Photo: Mike Kai Chen, Bloomberg
Over the course of last year, TSMC moderated its capital expenditure plans as the consumer electronics industry grappled with a glut of unsold inventory. Overall revenue last year declined 4.5 percent from the previous year to NT$2.16 trillion, it said.
While TSMC outdid analyst expectations and its own guidance, the chipmaker’s fourth-quarter results still fell short of delivering growth. In addition, last month’s sales were down 8.4 percent from a year earlier to hit the lowest level in six months, offering a mixed outlook for the year ahead.
Fellow chipmaker Samsung Electronics Co on Tuesday posted its sixth successive quarter of declining operating profit, as it weathered the impact of muted consumer demand in its smartphone and memory businesses.
Still, the latest report from the Semiconductor Industry Association showed the first growth in chip sales in more than a year in November last year, suggesting momentum is gathering for a resurgence this year.
TSMC executives including chief executive officer C.C. Wei (魏哲家) have said they expect overall business to grow this year, and the company has seen its high-performance computing business boosted by demand for Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices Inc’s AI chips.
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