TSMC's August sales hit 2nd monthly high

Taipei, Sept. 10 (CNA) Contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) on Tuesday said it recorded its second-highest monthly sales total ever in August.

TSMC, the world's largest contract chipmaker, also reported its highest-ever August sales, up more than 30 percent from a year earlier with market analysts attributing the growth to solid demand for its high-end processes.

In a statement, TSMC said it posted NT$250.87 billion (US$7.79 billion) in consolidated sales in August, down by 2.4 percent from a record high of NT$256.95 billion in July.

Analysts said the month-on-month sales decline in August reflected a stronger Taiwan dollar, which soared 2.82 percent against the U.S. dollar after U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said "the time has come" to cut interest rates.

On a year-on-year basis, TSMC's revenue rose 33 percent as demand for its advanced technologies stayed robust in a boom of the current artificial intelligence era, analyst said.

In addition, Apple Inc., which accounts for about 25 percent of TSMC's total revenue, placed large orders on the chipmaker's high end chips, paving the way to the launch of the newest iPhone 16 lineup on Sept. 9 (U.S. time), analysts said.

During an investor conference in mid-July, TSMC gave guidance for the third quarter, expecting its consolidated sales for the quarter will range between US$22.4 billion and US$23.2 billion based on an exchange rate of NT$32.5 against the U.S. dollar.

In Taiwan dollar terms, TSMC's third quarter sales are expected to range between NT$728 billion and NT$754 billion.

Between July and August, the chipmaker's aggregate sales hit NT$507.82 billion and analysts said it is very likely for TSMC to achieve its third-quarter guidance.

In the first eight months of this year, TSMC's consolidated sales totaled NT$1.77 trillion, up 30.8 percent from a year earlier.

TSMC has forecast its sales will grow 24-26 percent from a year earlier in 2024 in U.S. dollar terms, beating an expected 10 percent sales growth for the global semiconductor industry, excluding the memory chip segment.