TSMC's month-on-month sales surge nearly 35% to hit high in October

Taipei, Nov. 10 (CNA) Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) reported Friday that its October sales soared almost 35 percent from September and hit a new monthly high, with analysts attributing the growth to solid demand for the company's new advanced chip process.

In a statement, the world's largest contract chipmaker said it posted NT$243.20 billion (US$7.53 billion) in consolidated sales in October, up 34.8 percent from a month earlier, and 15.7 percent up from a year earlier.

The October figure beat the previous record high of NT$222.71 billion logged in November 2022, according to TSMC's statistics.

Analysts said that while some of TSMC's clients, in particular those in the consumer electronics industry, were still dealing with inventory adjustments, the chipmaker benefited from strong demand for its 3-nanometer process, the latest chip technology that the company began mass-producing at the end of 2022.

In an investor conference held on Oct. 19, TSMC CEO C.C. Wei (魏哲家) said growing demand for the 3nm process is expected to continue into 2024, adding that the growth momentum the company was experiencing will likely continue.

In the third quarter, the 3-nanometer process accounted for 6 percent of the company's total sales, the 5nm process made up 37 percent and the 7nm process represented 16 percent, meaning that the advanced technologies accounted for 59 percent of total revenue.

After the 3nm process, TSMC has also scheduled mass production of the more advanced 2nm process for 2025, which is expected to further cement TSMC's lead over its peers in terms of high-end technology development.

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In the first 10 months of this year, TSMC's consolidated sales stood at NT$1.78 trillion, down 3.7 percent from a year earlier, which evidences continuing weak worldwide demand.

TSMC has forecast that its consolidated sales in the fourth quarter of this year will range between US$18.8 billion and US$19.6 billion, with the median figure of US$19.2 billion representing an 11.1 percent sequential increase.

TSMC made the forecast based on an exchange rate of NT$32:US$1. In Taiwan dollar terms, the chipmaker's consolidated sales between October and December are expected to range between NT$601.6 and NT$627.2 billion.

Following the October sales, analysts said it is possible that TSMC's November and December revenue could be lower.

Analysts added that following Taiwanese smartphone IC designer MediaTek Inc. and its American counterpart Qualcomm Inc. unveiling new 5G mobile chips, smartphone demand from end-users showed signs of recovery, which was positive for TSMC.