TSMC posts record Q4 sales

Taipei, Jan. 10 (CNA) Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) reported Friday its highest ever sales for a fourth quarter, with analysts attributing the strong showing to robust global demand for its high-end technologies.

In a statement, the world's largest contract chipmaker said its consolidated sales totaled NT$868.46 billion (US$26.35 billion) in the October to December period, up 14.32 percent from a quarter earlier.

TSMC had forecast at a mid-October investor conference that its fourth quarter sales would range between US$26.1 billion and US$26.9 billion.

Based on the exchange rate of NT$32 the company had used for the forecast, the prediction was converted to NT$835.2 billion to NT$860.8 billion, but with the Taiwan dollar currently at around NT$33 to the greenback, the chipmaker's real numbers exceeded the estimate.

Analysts said demand for TSMC's 3 nanometer process and 5nm process was strong at a time of increasing popularity for emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence applications, and the debut of new smartphones.

The 3nm is currently the most advanced technology currently being mass produced by TSMC.

TSMC also benefited from its efforts to develop advanced IC packaging technologies, which are in demand by its clients, analysts said.

In December alone, TSMC's consolidated sales hit NT$278.16 billion, up 0.8 percent from a month earlier and up 57.8 percent from a year earlier.

The December figure was the second highest level ever for TSMC in a single month, trailing only sales of NT$314.24 billion in October.

For 2024 as a whole, TSMC's consolidated sales hit a new high, totaling NT$2.89 trillion, up 33.9 percent from a year earlier.

At the investor conference, TSMC anticipated that its 2024 sales would grow almost 30 percent from a year earlier in U.S. dollar terms.

It said revenue generated from chips used in graphics processing units, AI accelerators and other AI-related devices, which account for 15 percent of total sales, would likely grow more than 200 percent in 2024.

TSMC will hold an investor conference on Jan. 16 to detail its fourth quarter results and give guidance for the first quarter of this year and all of 2025.

Analysts said the chipmaker is expected to continue to ride the momentum created by AI development to set another new high in sales for the year.