TSMC revenue hits second consecutive record high

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), a supplier to Apple Inc, yesterday reported a record high revenue of NT$127.59 billion (US$4.4 billion) for last month, up 3.8 percent month-on-month and 24.9 percent year-on-year.

Last month’s figure marked the second consecutive monthly record, after reaching NT$122.88 billion in August, the company said.

TSMC, the world’s largest contract chipmaker, said that while it had to halt shipments to Huawei Technologies Co (華為) due to the US’ blacklisting of the Chinese company, demand from other clients remained high.

TSMC’s consolidated revenue was NT$356.43 billion in the third quarter, an increase of 14.71 percent from a quarter earlier, which beat its target of 9.3 percent growth.

On an annual basis, third-quarter revenue rose from NT$293 billion a year earlier and beat the average forecast of NT$337.2 billion by analysts, a Bloomberg poll showed.

The increase was driven mainly by solid demand for chips for 5G equipment, Internet of Things (IoT) and high-performance applications, as well as for 5-nanometer chips for Apple’s next generation iPhone 12, and its iPad Air and iPad Pro, the chipmaker said.

In the first three quarters, accumulated sales totaled NT$977.72 billion, up 29.9 percent from a year earlier, company data showed.

TSMC in July raised its outlook for this year, projecting that revenue would grow more than 20 percent.

Sales for the first nine months suggest that the chipmaker is on track to meet its growth forecast as the COVID-19 pandemic fueled demand for home computing equipment.

Strong demand for 5G chips is expected to boost TSMC’s sales by 8 to 10 percent in the fourth quarter, while its revenue for this year is likely to show more than 20 percent growth, said Dan Wang, a technology analyst at research firm Gavekal Dragonomics (龍洲經訊).

“Although TSMC can overcome the short-term hit of losing Huawei, it will face a bigger problem if the US government continuously limits its ability to work with Chinese companies, which make up a quarter of its clients today and will continue to keep growing,” Wang said.

Shares rose 2.26 percent yesterday to close at NT$453 in Taipei trading, after surging more than 80 percent since March, a sign that the company is bouncing back from disruptions caused by COVID-19.