TAIPEI, Taiwan -- Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Ltd., the world's largest contract chipmaker, turned in third quarter results that confirmed the softness of the chip market and disappointed analysts.
Although sales were up 48% to about $1.15 billion compared with the same quarter a year earlier in these turbulent times market watchers follow TSMC numbers quarter-by-quarter or even month-by-month. And on a sequential basis TSMC's quarterly sales revenue fell by 9.8% from the $1.26 billion of the second quarter. Net profit was about $93 million.
TSMC has also cut its 2002 capex budget to $1.65 billion, down 25% from $2.2 billion that the company spent last year.
The company is now expecting sales to be down again in the fourth quarter before strong growth resumes in the second quarter of 2003.
However the company also expects to remain profitable during this "bottoming out" period. Meanwhile the company expects to see rapid growth from 0.13-micron technology products, which should represent about 20% of total revenues in 2003.
In the fourth quarter TSMC's overall utilization rate could sink to the low- to mid-50% range, the company said, due to reduced wafer output on the back of a 6% higher capacity level sequentially.
TSMC is expecting 2003 revenues to grow by double-digit percentage over 2002, with the recovery being led by both wired and wireless communications and some consumer products. The computer sector will show milder growth, the company said.
TSMC said capital expenditure for 2003 is being set at $1.65 billion.
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