Taiwan TSMC September Net Sales NT$12.8 Billion, +37% On Year
Tuesday October 8, 1:54 am ET
Figures in New Taiwan dollars.
2002 2001
Sep Net Sales NT$12,755,000,000 NT$9,308,000,000
Jan-Sep Net Sales 119,807,000,000 92,758,000,000
(US$1=NT$35.112)
TAIPEI -(Dow Jones)- Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. , the world's largest made-to-order chip foundry, said Tuesday September net sales rose 37% on year to NT$12.8 billion.
But net sales last month dropped 5.8% from August due to lower unit sales, the company said in a statement.
Net sales for the first three quarters of the year rose 29.2% to NT$119.8 billion, compared with NT$92.8 billion last year, the firm said.
September's results beat some analysts' expectations of around NT$11.6 billion.
Shares of TSMC fell 1.1% to NT$35.6 Tuesday, even as the broader market rose 1%, snapping a three-session losing streak.
Although some analysts had speculated problems with low yield rates on cutting-edge products would bring sales down, the company came within the range of its earlier guidance for a quarter-on-quarter 10% decline during the July- September period.
Sales for the third quarter totaled NT$39.8 billion, down 9.8% from NT$44.1 billion in the second quarter.
In coming months, the company might face increased competition for the production of higher technology chips, a business that commands higher margins.
International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE:IBM - News) Monday unveiled a new business aimed at providing chip design and production services, similar to a foundry chipmaker.
The danger for TSMC is that IBM could eventually take over a larger portion of the high-end business it has worked for years.
In a statement, IBM said it had shifted more than 700 design engineers to the unit and expects the number to increase to more than 1,000 by next year.
The firm said it will provide design services for chips and entire electronics systems as well as chip manufacturing services.
"IBM tends to focus on high-end, niche, limited volume products," said Rick Hsu, chip analyst at Nomura Securities in Taipei.
He pointed out that companies turning to IBM for regular foundry services for initial chip design and production would later likely shift orders to a Taiwanese foundry like TSMC to save money because IBM is more expensive.
Earlier this year, IBM inked a manufacturing deal with Xilinx Inc. (NasdaqNM:XLNX - News) , the U.S. maker of chips for products ranging from mobile phone base stations to digital video disc players.
Analysts called the deal the beginning of a new foray into foundry chip making services for IBM, but it should still be some time before the venture impacts rivals significantly, if at all.
TSMC is slated to hold its third-quarter investor conference Oct. 22 and provide more details on its business outlook. |
