For the quarter ending in September, TSMC forecast revenue of $14.6 billion to $14.9 billion
World’s largest chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) has reported its highest sales for the April-June quarter at $13.29 billion, climbing by 28 per cent.
The Apple supplier also forecasts revenue for the current quarter will jump by at least a fifth, boosted by a pandemic-led surge in global demand for semiconductors that power smartphones, laptops and cars.
For the quarter ending in September, TSMC forecast revenue of $14.6 billion to $14.9 billion, compared with $12.1 billion for the same period last year.
TSMC has the global chip crisis to thank for the boost in its business. The ongoing semiconductor crunch has forced automakers to cut production and hurt manufacturers of smartphones, laptops and even appliances during the pandemic, with industry experts not expecting the crisis to submerge anytime soon.
TSMC assured on an analyst call that the auto chip shortage will gradually reduce for its customers from this quarter, but expects overall semiconductor capacity tightness to extend possibly into next year.
“Our second-quarter business was mainly driven by continued strength in high-performance computing (HPC) and automotive-related demand,” said Chief Financial Officer Wendell Huang.
For the second quarter, TSMC said profit rose 11 per cent $4.81 billion from a year earlier.
“Moving into the third quarter, we expect our business to be supported by strong demand for our industry-leading 5 nanometre and 7-nanometre technologies, driven by all four growth platforms, which are smartphone, HPC, IoT and automotive-related applications,” Huang added.
TSMC had previously flagged a $100 billion expansion plan over the next three years, as fifth-generation telecommunications (5G) technology and artificial intelligence applications drive global demand for advanced chips.